Tokyo Ghoul: Domino
by Angela Evil
Summary: Strange occurrences in Tokyo catch the attention of the CCG. A new, large-scale group of ghouls have appeared. Are they friends or foes? What ghosts of Sasaki's past will come back to haunt him? The Quinx struggle against the inevitable. What is the meaning of Domino? There will be gore and swearing. (please give it a chance, the first chapter is misleading to the story's nature!)
1. Chapter 1

**Heya! So this was actually** **put together before "Flaming River" and I already have several chapters written out and redacted. Warning: OCs and some OOC characters (sorry). I tried to stay true to what I knew of the :re cast. The story takes a branch off from the main story a few weeks before the Ghoul Auction. Okay, thanks, bye.** **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 1: To Pick a Pawn, Die Schwartze Maske

The room was dark, the drapes were open so it must have been night. Tsukiyama Shuu lay staring at the canopy of his covered bed, drowning for yet another day in his despair. Kanae and Chie were arguing downstairs, again. He just couldn't get along with Shuu's pet human. Just as Shuu was about to nod off, he heard the distant boom of the door swinging open. The two fell suddenly quiet. Tsukiyama's servant was the first to speak. "Who are you?" He was upset, though about what Shuu couldn't tell.

"Where is Tsukiyama Shuu?" The voice was eerily familiar. Bringing to mind white hair, a single black and red eye, black leather, and an eyepatch. Tsukiyama took a shaking breath.

"Tsukiyama-sama will not be seeing anyone. especially not someone like you." Kanae's voice had shifted from disturbed to angry. What sounded like a fight broke out downstairs.

 _*POV_

 _This guy is crazy strong! Verdammt ihn!_ Kanae landed a kick on the intruder's chest sending him sliding back. His opponent straightened up, brushing a lock of obsidian hair out of his ash grey eyes. Well at least one of his eyes were gray, the other was hidden behind his mask. It was a black leather half-mask from the chin to the bridge of the nose, two strings connected to the eyepatch that cut through his hair, over the forehead, a incredibly detailed mouth was shaped over the wearer's with a zipper that could allow the ghoul to eat and retain his anonymity, and the last detail was two, silver, gasmask air filters affixed over the pulse points just behind the jaw. _Just as Tsukiyama-sama described it; there is no doubt, this has to be that man. Kaneki Ken!_ "Töten!" he charged.

"I don't have time to play with you." The intruder pulled Kanae's arm through, grabbed his shoulder, and slammed his knee into Kanae's stomach, knocking the air out of him. He pulled the winded ghoul up by his tie staring down at him with palpable apathy. "Stay out of my way, peon." With a flick of his wrist Kanae was sent sprawling across to floor.

"You can't see him. You can't be here. You're the reason Tsukiyama-sama is suffering!" His striped purple suit ripped as he charged, kagune whipping out, black and red eyes glowing. "This time stay dead!"

Kaneki's exposed eye shifted, sidestepping Kanae's attacks, infuriating him even more. He stuck out more ferociously, coming within centimeters of the black clad ghoul. Before he could react Kaneki had brought his fist down on the nape of his neck. There was a sickening crunch that echoed through Kanae's skull. "Scheiße." He fell into the arms of his intended victim, unable to even twitch.

"I'll ask you one last time," He said grabbing Kanae's hair, forcing his head up, "where is Tsukiyama Shuu?" Kanae quietly swore. This guy wasn't just monstrously strong, he was smart, too. The blow that stunned him would have killed a human and was no where near the strength of his previous blows. This ghoul could kill him, effortlessly. Kaneki's hand had found purchase on Kanae's neck and, with the slightest of ease, began choking him.

His vision had started to go dark at the edges when Chie jumped out from where she had been hiding. "Stop it!" The pressure laxed. "Tsukiyama is upstairs, last door in the left wing. Just follow the red chamomiles." Kanae couldn't see her but he knew that she was excited by the appearance of this man. All her feigned worry disappeared after her initial interference.

"Schwein!" Kanae growled at her.

"Thank you," he replied coldly and unceremoniously dropped Kanae. He briefly returned to the door, retrieved a large case, and headed over to the stairs. Kanae could tell, his novice epicurean scenes were well aware, what was in the case was fresh meat.

*POV

Shuu held his breath. The altercation had come to a sudden stop downstairs. Someone was headed for his room. He couldn't fight in his present state, weakened by grief and malnourishment. Even still there was an excitement; that voice muffled through the wall, was it even possible? _Kaneki Ken._ His visitor, or attacker, lingered a moment outside his chamber door before spilling the light from the hall into the darkened room. _Ah!_ The silhouette alone sent such a rush of life through him. Although his hair was a darker hue the mask was unmistakable. He wore the black tailored outfit that Shuu had become familiar with just over two years prior. It was ecstasy, a living memory walked into his room, carrying a large case in his right hand.

He placed it down next to the bed and calmly pulled back the red satin curtains, presumably to allow the bed's occupant a view of more than just the window and doorway. "Kaneki Ken?" Shuu realized just how desperate his voice sounded. He reached out to the black haired boy. "Is...is it really you?"

Kaneki leaned against the head post. "You look awful, Tsukiyama-san." Crushed. Had his sences been as they were before his heartbreak he would never had let himself hope. It was the voice. The same thing that had given him hope smashed it to pieces. It was too young, just a little deeper, the semblence between this man and Kaneki was uncanny, disturbingly so. Yes, closer inspection revealed subtle differences, his eyes were darker and just a little blue, his hair had a velvety appearance instead of Kaneki's silky curls, his completion was paler, he was a few centimeters taller, not significantly enough that it was noticeable without scrutinizing the two, and yes, Shuu was sure if his senses had been as they were, their scents would be different, too. "Shuu?" His heart leapt painfully. Even though he was not Kaneki, Shuu still had reacted as if it had been Kaneki who had called him.

Not Kaneki gave a small sigh and sat down on the bed with his back facing Shuu. He could see every muscle through the thin fabric. "You're not Kaneki Ken." he choked out between silent sobs.

"No, I'm not Ken." He undid the buttons on the back of the mask, so it fell to the side of his face and turned to face Shuu. "But I am Kaneki."

"W-what?" His face was so, so very close to the Kaneki Shuu knew, that it hurt.

"Please don't let your heart fall so, Tsukiyama-san," he leaned over Shuu, so close that his bangs brushed Shuu's face, a hand resting on the silken sheets next his head. "The meal you have so devoted yourself to is still alive."

Shuu's eyes turned and so did this strangers left eye, only his left eye. He pulled away the eyepatch portion and the mask fell away. _A one eyed ghoul? He smells like Kaneki-kun but also not like him. Is what he's saying true? Is my Kaneki-kun alive?_

*POV

Kaneki chuckled. The once great predatory ghoul, the Gourmet, , layed there. Helpless, hopeless, week. At one time he might even have been handsome but now he was like a withered flower. A tear flickered down from the corner of his eye "Is it really true? Is Kaneki alive?" A pang of something akin to pity jabbed at Kaneki's heart.

"Yes." he lightly brushed the fallen drop from the purple haired ghoul's face. "So, what say you then Tsukiyama Shuu? Will you become my sword as you were my father's?" Tsukiyama froze first a look of shock, then comprehension, followed by disbelief flitted across his visage. "The reason why Kaneki Ken and I share a sir-name is because he is my father. You are not wrong to doubt me, not even father knows that I exist." He bit into his finger, blood welled up on the surface before it healed. "Here, prove it to yourself." He gently pressed it to Tsukiyama's lips who responded by licking it off.

His eyes glowed, seeming to regain some measure of lost strength, and exalted, "Tres Bien!" It had started as a whisper and finished in a rush of energy not seen by any since the disappearance of Eyepatch.

"How troublesome." Kaneki righted himself, placed his right thumb on his ring finger, and cracked it. Tsukiyama seemed to shudder. "Yukio." When all he received was a confused expression he clarified, "My name, Kaneki Yukio."

"Yukio-kun." Tsukiyama tried the name several times before finding a way he seemed to enjoy saying it.

"I know that your tastes are much more…refined," Kaneki began carefully, "but I picked out something that I hope you will enjoy. After all I would very much like to have you as an ally." He gently tapped the "present" he brought with his foot. The case moved, faint noises could be heard. "The sooner you recover, the sooner I can bring my father back." Kaneki retrieved his mask from where it had fallen and rose to his feet. He could feel Tsukiyama examining his physic. "I'll leave you two alone." He had fixed his mask by the time he gotten to the door and looked back. The purple haired ghoul was already eyeing the case he had brought with him. Kaneki was normally against unnecessary death but he cared even less of Aogiri Tree and its supporters.

The door clicked shut as the case clicked open and for the first time in many months the Gourmet enjoyed a wholesome meal. A faint "Bon appetite" was the last thing that poor soul would hear.

 **I have no idea the frequency of updates on this one xD. Don't worry about Yukio's existence. All shall be explained.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woooo! Chapter two! So I have been in a rut with thinking of new content for this so I'm just going to upload what I have and see if I want to keep working on this.** **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 2: Kuki Urie, Ghul oder Mensch?

Urie had been instructed to rest after his surgery, it was late in the day and he was feeling the urge to go for a walk. Stretching his legs would do him good; he didn't want to be stiff next time he was in combat. Taking a walk would also be a good time to test the sharpness of his senses. Because it was a bit chilly in Tokyo's late evening he went out in something warm and relatively causal. People bustled about talking, laughing, eating with friends, and blissfully unaware of the "friends", neighbours, or co workers that were ghouls.

It had been a while when a strange scent caught his attention. At first he had tried to ignore it but he kept catching whiffs of it. The smell was nauseatingly sweet and grabbed at his focus, making his stomach turn. Before he knew it Urie found himself following the scent. Letting his ghoul instincts take control was risky but would be a good way to find out how powerful his nose had become.

Urie's feet carried him to the local senior high school. _That scent is definitely coming from here. What is it?_ He took a step into the street.

"Oi, kid!" Urie glanced around to see a dingy older man giving him a concerned look from a near by alleyway. _Is he talking to me?_ He gestured for Urie to approach. He stopped within a comfortable hearing distance. The stranger gave a nervous laugh. "You must be new around here so I'll fill you in, kid." Urie raised an eyebrow and nodded politely. _There he goes with the kid bullshit again; can't he tell I'm 19?_ "You see, that school, and most of the district actually, is _his_ territory. If there is one thing you don't want to do is antagonize that man." When Urie's face remained neutral he continued. "He is the only ghoul who could go head to head with Aogiri or even the CCG!

"The CCG?" This got Urie's full attention now.

"Either way, steer clear, he might seem like a nice guy but in reality he is vicious, ruthless, and sadistic. So much as shadow a student or any other human near his turf and you won't be getting up in the morning." _That seems exaggerated. Ugh, this guy smells, too._ He had been inching closer to Urie during his explanation, glancing around. His eyes shifted into kakugan. _Hardly surprising. One more rat to kill either way._

"Thank you for the information, ghoul." The stranger flinched back suddenly. "Rank 2 Ghoul Investigator, Kuki Urie, I'll be killing you today." The ghoul ran. _That's right corner yourself. It just makes my job easier._ The ghoul pounded down the small space just ahead of him. _Yes definitely a low class ghoul. Killing it shouldn't qualify as strenuous activity._ The ghoul's footsteps stopped echoing from between the buildings. He was trying to hide his presence. Urie could hear his shaking breath, smell his kagune, too. It was a strange, ferrell sensation.

Seemingly egged on by the awakening of his ghoul instincts, Urie found himself very, very hungry. The alley took a sharp left turn and then ended abruptly. The building jutted out, cutting off a view of the sky. Trashbags heaped up on the right side a dumpster on the left and barely any room in between. He was hiding back there. Urie grabbed the dumpster and slid it out, effectively blocking the only exit. The older ghoul had pushed himself as far into the corner as he could, panic stricken, and then lunged out in desperation.

The scuffle was brief. While he was stronger than a human, by ghoul standards he was pathetic. Even the ghoul from the taxi during the torso case was stronger. He had stopped screaming after about a minute. Hot blood ran down from the corners of Urie's mouth. Disposing of whatever was left of the body wouldn't be a problem, after all, there was a dumpster right there and no one was going to question the smell. It was a strange sensation and a absolutly disgusting taste. He looked down at his prey satisfied. _At this rate I won't have that much to hide._

There was just enough light in the back alley for Urie to catch a look at his reflection in a shatter mirror. Horrifying. While Quinx's had kakugan it was never as defined as an actual ghouls. The iris would be a lighter red and the white turned the darkest of grays but what stared back at Urie was a broke reflection of his inner demons. One side of his face, the human side was ripped with concern, the ghoul side wore a warped grin, blood smeared over his cheek, its eye as black as pitch and red as blood.

Urie stared at it for a long time unable to look away, he could feel something coming unfrayed, not quite broken but teetering terrible close. The human reflection spoke first. "What have you done, Urie?" It was his father voice. "Look at what you have become! Don't you hate the ghouls? So, why? What is letting yourself fall like this going to accomplish?" The human face demanded an answer, but not from Urie himself.

"Oh, shut up will 'ya~! Who fucking cares? His goal isn't something so shallow as revenge! Power. The point of it all is power. To prove that he is superior right~! Humans are weak! He'll never become strong if refuses to follow nature. In this world the strong devour the weak, it's only natural. So, what are you? Stong? Weak?" The ghoul's reflection spoke with a voice as distorted as his smile.

"Not a ghoul!" snapped back the human, giving a glare to the other side of the mirror. "Urie, please, there is still time, turn your back on this path, you can still be human."

"Tch, to stay human is to choose weakness. You can't show them how they have wronged you if you aren't strong. They won't listen to you. Sasaki, Arima, Mado, everyone else, they'll just walk over you if you let them, right~? You still have to prove yourself. You can't turn back now, Urie."

"That thinking is stupid and dangerous! If he follows the path of a ghoul then he'll be killed or worse. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how much Sasaki is suffering, Urie. If you put yourself in a vulnerable position like this you won't live long enough to have a chance to prove yourself. Please, Urie!"

His head was pounding the verbal tug-of-war was starting to have physical effects. The two sides of his nature were tearing him apart. "Stop." Urie choked out. The voices continued painfully loud for his heightened sensitivity. "I said stop it!" He lashed out in fury at the mirrored faces, smashing it into dust with his kagune. His breath came out ragged and shallow. _That is more than enough for one day. I just need to get rid of this now; I'll figure out something later._

Urie took special care in cleaning himself up, he'd have to pass CCG's scrutiny after all. He was confident that no one would figure out what he had been up to. He had reached the penthouse later than he suspected. Something he wasn't expecting happened, he found himself clicking together his right molars like he was chewing on something. Chewing on bones. He decided that picking a few habits intentionally now would be better than acquiring them through any unforeseen incidents. Mental discipline would be the most important if he wanted to keep himself in check. _What is something that I could do that would keep my mind occupied should I feel the need. Something that isn't a pain in the ass to carry around either._ The answer was so simple, he had seen Sasaki do it plenty of times, at first he thought it was some kind of memory trick or nervous twitch, but it made perfect sense. _To keep myself sane._ He pulled up an audio editing file that he could upload to his mp3 player later. He tapped record. "One-thousand minus seven is…"

 **Huh, no Pov changes this time. Oh well.**


	3. Chapter 3

**(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.) This chapter is going to be "fun"**

Chapter 3: The Lover Ghoul, Ein Giftiger Dornenbusch

Sasaki had been called into the office early in the morning. Arima-san wanted to talk to him. _What is this about? It's not time for reports, yet. Did something happen?_ He rushed out the door, Mitsuki was clever enough to get on-the-go coffee cups for Sasaki. He would have to remember to get him a present for his thoughtfulness. _Ah, they're such good kids._ He pushed open the doors to CCG a few minutes later. "Hiase."

"Eh, Arima-san?" That was unusual to be sure, Arima hardly ever spoke with Sasaki outside of regular meetings without being in a council room of some kind. Arima was walking towards him with a file in one hand and his quinque case in the other. The white trench coat pulled over his suit was a clear message, he was going somewhere.

"Sasaki, we have been receiving reports of a ghoul that may be related to your 'Nuts' case." He handed the file to Sasaki.

"Ah, thank you, Arima-san." If only for a fleeting moment Sasaki thought he shouldn't ask but curiosity soon won out. "Where are you going?"

"Business," he responded coolly, "just focus on your work, okay? 'Dad' will be alright and if anything happens you have 'Mom' right."

Sasaki flushed at the mention of his personal feelings about Arima and Mado in such an open setting. "Really, sir, that's just embarrassing to say." He smiled at Sasaki. Arima gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before walking out of the CCG and disappearing into the rush hour crowd.

Sasaki tweaked his tie and continued up to his office, determined to get a head start on today's work. The file contained a series of strange murders. He was the only one in the office. Odd. It was early but Akira was normally an early riser. He slumped down in his chair and spread the file's contents over the desk. Reading through the file gave him a sense of something being very wrong. He sipped on his coffee thoughtfully. _The medical reports show that all the victims were eaten alive. Grisly._ He shivered and pulled a disgusted face. It was just out of reach. Flipping through the reports again revealed nothing new. _Just as I thought._ Crime scene pictures were horrifying but, much to Sasaki's self loathing, were making him hungry. _Focus, Hiase, focus._ He scratched that back of his head, pensively. _Blood and viscera patterns, medical reports. All of the vitims were sexualy aroused, eaten in a way that they wouldn't die quickly, kagune fluids on all of their genetals, it's got to mean something._ "Where are the signs of struggle?" He said it out loud without meaning to.

"Just what I was thinking." Akira Mado said. Sasaki jumped. She had been standing right behind him for a few moments. "Also," she continued pointing to the victim bios, " The murdered individuals are all suicidal."

"But they had recovered, right? All the family and friends interviewed are quoted in saying that 'they never had seemed so full of life in a while' so why did this happen to them?"

"Slowly and deliberately eaten by an unknown ghoul that pleasured them while they ate. Strange any way you look at it."

It had dawned on him so suddenly. Sasaki looked up, Mado was leaning over his shoulder to get a better look at the file's contents. Her scent filled his nose momentarily disrupting his focus. "You smell tasty." Mado lept back her hand reaching for her quinque. "Ah, wait, wait, Mado-san, I was going somewhere with that." She glared at him.

"Explanation. Now."

"Okay, so I'm thinking his predatory behavior has something to do with his sense of taste and smell."

"What?"

Sasaki scratched his head again blood rushing to his cheeks. "It would be turn on for him. T-to put it bluntly 'sex smells'." He floundered for a way to explain what he was thinking.

Mado's face lit up with understanding and she seemed to relax a bit. "Of course! Endorphins and adrenaline, or for lack of a better description, the 'taste' of pleasure and pain." Mado suddenly had a thoughtful look on her face. "How do you know it's a he?" Sasaki fumbled through the reports.

"They all seem mention a new, 'boyfriend'."

Mado let out a sigh, "Why were we handed this one?"

"He might be connected to Nuts, though it's a bit of a stretch we're low on solid leads that don't put our squad members in the line of fire."

"What are we going to call him? A ghoul with his m.o. doesn't seem to be in any field reports." Irritation was clear in her voice. Sasaki would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same. So many victims and there only now hearing about him?

"Lover." Sasaki was staring at a picture of the most recent victim.

"Huh?" Mado was standing next to Sasaki again. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair, fingers knitting together.

"None of his victims struggle, not one, like they want it to happen. And there is no signs of drugs in their systems. Why would there be? If pain and pleasure is his goal, then the taste matters a great deal to him. Drugs would change the flavor and, above all, he wants his prey to feel everything he does to them. Or at least that's the impression anyway." The room was filled with a strange silence. He could tell Mado was thinking about what he was saying, even if he didn't look at her. Her breathing changed when she was thinking intently. "I'll get Shirazu, we'll need his long range capabilities, and Urie, too, he might be able to sniff this guy out."

"Okay, just one thing."

"Yes?"

"Are you...hungry?" The question shocked Sasaki, he knew if he answered honestly it would be worse than him trying to pass of a lie as self control. He put his left hand up to his chin.

"No, not at all."

It was early afternoon by the time Sasaki got back to the penthouse, he had spent the rest of the morning with Mado making a plan for Lover's capture and writing up a report summarizing their finding. So far they had a m.o. but no physical features to go on. _This is going to be a hard one._ Urie was in his room, he had responded to Sasaki's knock with an 'I'll be up in a minute'. He had just gotten back from the hospital two days before so Sasaki wanted to avoid pushing him if he could. Shirazu didn't answer. _Maybe he went out for a bit._

Sasaki was brewing coffee when Urie came in, he was off, something was definitely wrong. He poured Urie a cup. He was looking haggard, a bit pale, and there was something about the way he smelled that was wrong. _Almost like a ghoul._ "Are you okay, Urie-kun? You're looking a bit sick."

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Sasaki raised an eyebrow, he didn't seem fine, more like the exact opposite, even his voice was on the weak side.

"Here," he handed Urie the cup, "I'll get the sugar cubes, just wait a second." He opened a locked draw with the key he kept in his pocket, careful that Urie couldn't see what he was doing. Sasaki didn't want Mado finding these but he needed to check something. He pulled out two of the light red-orange, cubes, put one into his own glass, and walked out of the kitchen with the other. "There we go," he dropped it into Urie's cup before he could protest.

"I-I don't like sugar." He seemed to be fumbling for an excuse not to drink it.

"What? But you always got your coffee with sugar before." He flinched, like he had been caught in a lie, and sipped the coffee carefully. His eyes widened. _Is he surprised that it tasted good? No it's something more than that. He knows ghouls can drink coffee._

"It's good."

"I'm glad you like it, now, sit." That command had come out more forcefully than Sasaki intended but Urie sat down immediately, resting the cup on the counter. "So how was it? In detail, please. You could probably tell that sugar cube was homemade. I need to know if my recipe is any good."

Urie seemed to relax a bit at Sasaki's suggestion that he couldn't taste it. "Well it wasn't exactly sweet, but it was definitely a savoury flavor with hints of some kind of meaty aftertaste. It was a little bit too spicy to be pork, and just a little bitter. What was is it?"

"Urie, have you found your sense of taste changing in any strange ways?"

"N-no, why?" A nervous sweat was breaking out on Urie's neck.

"Well they are homemade after all, I'm the only one who uses them," an expression of horrible comprehension spread over Urie's face. Sasaki kept his tone even, "so I use any excess RC fluid from my quinque to make them. Mitsuki had tried them once and he said they tasted awful. Of course I didn't think so. It seems you're not telling me all of the side effects of having your frame upgraded, Urie." Sasaki realized just how terrifying he must sound right about now. He was fully expecting Urie to react very badly.

"You're right." he was laughing, "Ah, you would be the first to find out Sasaki-san! So, are you mad at me? Are you going to report me? I'm in a really weird place you know. I'm not a human, I can't say that I am anymore, but I'm not a ghoul either, I can't be. So what am I? Where do I belong? Hu, Sasaki!" Urie was yelling at the end but cycled back into a worried muttering. Something about it felt like someone was 'walking over Sasaki's grave'. "... 979...972...965...958...951.."

Sasaki sucked in a breath. Any anger or disappointment was replaced with a crushing concern. He pulled Urie into a rough embrace much to Urie's surprise, Urie hugged back, releasing a silent sob into his shoulder. "I'm not mad at you, Urie, or even disappointed. I can't say I understand what you're going through. I'm pretty sure you hate me," he chuckled slightly, "but I consider you all my family and I will never, _never_ abandon my family." Urie calmed down quickly. Sasaki pulled back and gave his gentlest smile and sat down a bit awkwardly. "Well, this isn't actually the reason I called you up here." Urie stiffened and gave Sasaki a glare, the kind that he used to give him. _Yes, he is definitely feeling better_. Sasaki quaft his coffee, letting it take the edge off of his hunger. "We have recently discovered a ghoul that may be connected to the Nutz case." He gestured to the file on the table, "Mado-san and I identified his m.o. based on the trends in his murders. Maybe you could find something that we might have missed." Urie had a small smile and got to work.

It was late evening when Urie finally "got something". Sasaki had been working on finding any physical features from the few questions asked about the "new boyfriend" in relatives' testimonies. Urie was trying to find a range of activity. "Rising Sun Senior High."

"What?"

Urie shifted toward Sasaki with his notes in hand, a map spread out on the table. "The epicenter we were looking for, there is a lot of activity around the school. While there are plenty of victims from surrounding wards the vast majority come from this school district. None of the students have been attacked, in fact students and teachers from the academy have the lowest rate of assaults by ghouls of any public area in all of Tokyo."

"Well that is certainly strange considering the steady predation cases coming from that district." Sasaki moved over beside Urie to look at the map. "It looks like most of the district is strictly Lover's hunting grounds," He pointed out the large areas where only Lover seemed to hunt, "it might be possible that Lover is a student. Senior high, huh. At that age he would be just coming off of the binge eating curb of a juvenile. This could become problematic if he graduates and changes his m.o. He could effectively disappear like the Gourmet or Binge Eater." Urie noded.

"So this guy has become priority one?"

"For now. Our only other lead on Nutz is to wait for the ghoul auction to come around and I'm going to be honest, I hate the idea of using Mitsuki as bait. If we are going to make a move on this guy it'll have to be soon." Sasaki looked up at the clock, half past eight. Shirazu should have been back a while ago. "Where is Shirazu?"

Urie pulled what could only be described as an annoyed expression before he returned to his blatant neutrality. "That guy was bothering me earlier so when I wouldn't talk to him he stormed off, no idea where to."

"Tch, that'll make things more complicated." Concern again gnawed at Sasaki. Shirazu couldn't be lost, right?

"I don't need someone like him hanging around being useless." Sasaki sighed at Urie's remark.

"Same old Urie." he muttered. When it looked like Urie was going to retort Sasaki ficked him on the forehead. "Common, let's go, we need to find Lover soon, I have a bad feeling." He pulled on his trenchcoat and threw Urie his. Picking up his quinque case he headed out on the hunt.

*POV

Kotoro Aya was standing on the roof of the parking garage, the school sprawled out to the right, the city to the left. It wasn't that late but it was already dark, as to be expected in November. Tokyo was beautiful at night she wanted so badly to fall against the warmth of the boy standing next to her but she knew she couldn't. This wasn't the time to show weakness, not in front of a creature like him. "So, have you made your choice?" His voice was a low tenor, obsidian hair whipped to the side in the night breeze. He was standing downwind of her, it was probably making him ravenous. She had to be sure of herself now or she would be eaten, that is because, he was a ghoul. She was standing to his right so she couldn't tell if his kakugan was active or not.

"Yes," she whispered almost to soft for anyone to hear, "I have and I'm sure."

"Oh?"

 _Don't speak to me in that perfect voice, I'll lose all my confidence._ "I'm happy, really happy. You make me so happy, but you also taught me how to be strong of will, even though my body is so frail compared to yours. I-I can live without you. I will live without you. I'll take the things you taught me and I'll fight, become a survivor. This sadness that eats away at me," she laughed a little, "it won't disappear completely, not ever, even if you were to eat me. So really, thank you, for all of the joyful memories, I will treasure them and live." He was looking at her with an expression that matched the way she was feeling. His right eye shining a light gray-blue, tranquil like a misty morning, his left, crimson and black, and practically dripping with hunger. "I'm sorry, it looks like Aya-chan is off the menu, huh?"

"Yeah." He reached into his pocket and handed her a red domino tile. "It's a puzzle," he explained, "You have proven yourself to have a lot of willpower, but if you're really clever and can figure this out then," he gave her a lonely smile, "this won't be a good bye so much as a 'see you later'."

She turned it over in her hands. There was an elaborate "D" carved into the back, there were five white dots on one end and what looked like a very special dot, designed to look like a kakugan, on the other. "Cool." Aya was relaxing now, she knew him, he wasn't going to try anything. He was letting her go and it was killing him. Sorrow.

"So, shall we say farewell?" he hugged her and she had started to cry. He pulled Aya back and looked into her eyes. His hair fell into his face when he bent down slightly to lick the tears running down her cheeks.

A whistling sound broke into their tender moment and he shoved Aya away and jumped back. He slid on a black domino mask quickly and righted himself. Two men in trenchcoats with strange weapons were on the roof, one landing right where her boyfriend was just seconds ago, the other, having come up the stairwell, blocking egress in that direction.

"Tch, shit. Doves." her ex-lover turn and bolted off the roof using his sheer strength to leap the distance over the street to grip and climb the wall of another building. They were going to go after him. She had to stop them so she played the only card she had.

"Please, don't leave me," She clamped onto the stranger's leg, auburn hair falling onto her face. "It was so scary." ironically she was already crying and her voice was plenty shaken up. "He'll come back to get me! He's going to eat me. Please don't leave!" Aya was in luck the white and black haired one that landed in front of her was in charge and very compassionate. Perhaps most unsettling is the man that just left her and the man that just arrived had the same face.


	4. Chapter 4

**(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 4:Tokyo's Secret Flowerbed, Der Club des Domino

Shirazu paced outside of Urie's room. He had come back late last night and refused to tell him why. Normally he would have passed it off as Urie just being Urie, the guy has a lone wolf personality, but he reeked of blood and was fidgety. Urie was never fidgety. Even this morning Urie had shut himself up in his room and told Shirazu to "scram". He needed to know what was going on with him, as a squad leader and as a friend. Against his better judgement Shirazu had decided to follow Urie's scent from his walk on the day before. He needed answers and if Urie wasn't going to give them to him, he would have to find out himself.

The trail was as clear as could be expected for being a night old in Tokyo city. Although he wasn't the best tracker it wasn't to much trouble to go through for a teammate. Before long Shirazu detected a hint of something sweet mingling with Urie's scent. _Had he been following something?_

The street that he came out on sloped intersection directly across from a large, prestigious high school. Students bustled about the campus. "It's big enough to be a collage," he muttered, grinding his molars thoughtfully.

The school was a garden in the middle of a city, both literally and metaphorically, the air was permeated with the scents of greenery. Verdant tips of trees just peeked over the massive fence that enclosed the academy's perimeter. That slight sweetness had been coming from the building. _That's weird. Is that flowers? At this time of year?_

Urie's scent, however, deviated down a dingy side alley. Shirazu picked his way along the narrow space, trying to read out Urie's movements from the night before. He was still tracking something, only this time he seemed to be losing the caution he had before. Whoever Urie was following had seen him or figured out that they were being followed. His was becoming markedly easier to keep track of.

The alley ended abruptly. There was a building that overhang a dumpster area, turning off to the left in an "L" shape. It was a trap, a dead end, an ambush, it had to be, that was why Urie smelled like blood. He had gotten into a fight with someone.

The smell was the first thing, aside from the general shape of the alley, that Shirazu noticed. The trash hadn't been removed for sometime apparently. There was something underneath the unpleasant odor that caused his stomach to turn. The kagune implanted in his shoulder throbbed slightly, painfully. It was the smell of a corpse. Dread sunk into his throat. He pushed the dumpster aside.

As a ghoul investigator he was used to seeing horrible things. Had any of the students or workers in the near by offices found this they might have passed out, or worse. Shirazu had worked with Urie long enough to recognize damage done by his kagune. Long deep gash marks zigzagged up the walls and across the floor of the alleyway, pooling the crusting blood slightly. The corpse seemed to belong a ghoul, the damage of another kagune at the scene gave it away. There were no other scents in this alcove that would be recent enough. Urie clearly had been the one to kill it, but that wasn't what bothered him. The body had been cannibalized, pretty extremely, as there was hardly any of it left. A nearly one sided struggle was evident from the lack of the other kagune's damage on the walls and ripped up asphalt. Someone had also tried, if only futilely, to clean up the crime scene.

 _Why didn't Urie call this in? He couldn't have done this, right? Urie...Urie would kill a ghoul sure but...but to eat one that's...that's just…_ Shirazu thought back to the battle with Serpent. Urie had been willing to bite into his own arm for the momentary boost to his power. They had needed it to defeat Serpent at the time. Although Sasaki had come to their rescue. Urie hadn't hesitated then, didn't even seem to consider that what he was doing was wrong. _He could, and even worse, Urie would._

"Eh~? What a mess." Shirazu froze. The voice drifted in, loose and mocking. It brought to mind an eccentric individual. "Hah~ It's a good thing the boss let the poor~ stiff~ keep his turf. Otherwise I woulda have'ta kill somebody. But~ you wouldn't happen to know who cannibalized the traitorous bastard hu~?"

The man who was speaking was just a bit taller than Shirazu, thin but well muscled, dressed in a white suit, black shirt, gloves, and dress shoes, with a blood red tie. He wore a white domino mask that covered the bridge of his nose up, a "X" as red as his tie over his right eye, a small black symbol, "Σ", rested under his left where a tear might reside. His hair was a brown gradient that turned gold at the tips. A long smile twisted his face.

"Who are you? A ghoul?" Shirazu was on the defencive, turning to face him. He fully expected to fight, that this man was a ghoul. _I'm not in a good place if this comes down to a fight. No way to call for back up either, this is bad._

"Me~?" he rocked back on his heels. "Can't cha' tell?" He pointed at the symbol on his mask, "Sigma is the na~me, disposing of my master's enemies is my ga~me." His chuckle sent a chill down Shirazu's back. This man was dangerous. "Oh, yes, I am as much of a monster as any ghoul comes."

"I won't let you," he whipped his quinque into an active state, "hurt anyone in my squad."

"Ho~? I think you have misunderstood. You see, my friend~, this stiff," he gestured dismissively to the remains, "was planning on starting an uprising in this district. My master is very much _against_ this. It seems~ that I have to thank you and the other CCG boy-o who was here last night~." Shirazu grasped his weapon tighter. _What?_ Sigma sauntered over to the bend in the alley, just off to Shizaru's right "Oh wow. oh wow, oh wow~! That guy really went to town, didn't he? He really~ ate a lot!" The grin, Shirazu was beginning to think perpetual, faded into a stupefied expression. "Hmm~ Gamma-dono was right. That guy's gonna need help."

"W-wha?" _What is this guy on about?_

"Your friend," Sigma's voice had lost its airy role to take on a grave, impending tone, "he's in worse shape than I thought from last night. At this rate he'll be broken under the pressure or be turned into a true monster." He looked at Shirazu through the one open eyehole, kakugan blazed with a glaze of what seemed to be true concern. "Kuki Urie, if he continues this path for power without guidance or regard, he will become a ghoul, a kakuja."

Shirazu was desperately trying to make sense of this stranger. He shows up threateningly, then he extends what could pass for cordial thanks to a CCG officer, proclaiming himself to be a monster, and then says that Urie is in trouble? _Who the.. what the...the…_ "the hell?"

"People just can't leave well enough alone, can they?" Sigma sighed, "It's bad enough to be turned into a half ghoul, monster, but to not even be that. He will be controlled by it, like I was."

"Like you were? Does that mean that-"

"I was once human?" The smile flashed over his visible features. "What~ are you surprised? Thinking something boring like 'That's not possible'? Ha~!" He laughed again causing Shirazu's heart to sink. "Well~ not that I care about CCG officers but it is my master's policy to help ghouls in need."

"Urie is not a ghoul!"

"Then why did he eat that trash?" Shirazu didn't have an answer. If what this ex-human ghoul, if that was what he really was, was speaking truth then Urie was a danger to himself and others, and there was no time. As much as he hated, and he really did, ghouls, this might be his only chance.

 _Only one option then. Sasaki is going to kill me._ "Take me to him."

"Hu?" that seemed to be genuine shock.

"Your 'master'. If he really wants to help then he wouldn't mind explaining himself, right?"

The smile spread anew over Sigma's face. Shirazu swallowed. "Then, officer, please, follow me."

Shirazu had no idea how long he had been walking. The tunnels were always dark, either crushing tight squeezes, or massive open spaces that didn't seem like they belonged so far below Tokyo. Their route was winding, meandering through the passages, without any sense of direction. He had to trust Sigma to know the way, not a concept he was particularly keen on. _Why am I doing this?_ There was something indescribable about the situation. He truly was scared of this man; Sigma had a natural confidence, the kind that only the strong have, and though he spoke like a fool his eye glowed with a piercing understanding that could put the best CCG detective to shame. Sigma was friendly to the point of intimidating, casual, bordering on ridiculing, his cadence was jumpy, mocking, and his voice held the eerie quality to unnerve, like a man being examined, or put to ease, like an old friend's reassurance. Yes Shirazu was terrified of what Sigma could do, and despite all lack of trust, he knew, just knew, that Sigma had no ulterior motive to bringing him into the tunnels.

They reached a wall of pipes at the end of an increasingly narrow branch. Sigma, humming an old drinking shanty, began turns valves while the pipes belched steam. He stepped back from the pipe and held up a finger knowingly towards Shirazu, a smile twinged across his face. Slipping his hand into a gap, he apparently pressed some sort of switch. A section of pipes slid free from the wall, swinging outward into the passage. Behind it was a roughly hewn stone tunnel, neon lights twisted along the walls, music faintly drifted along from the door at the far end. Red, blue, green, and many other colored lights pulsed from under the door crack, temporarily painting the stone in vivid detail.

Sigma sauntered on, Shirazu still on his heels, the pipe door slid closed behind them, locking into place. The neon spelled out "Club Domino" and "Tokyo's Secret Garden", dice, cards, and other images decorated the rest of the walls. _A ghoul's club?_ Sigma pushed open the door at the end of the hall and light flooded into the hallway. The music had grown steadily louder as they entered.

The first thing Shirazu noticed was how many doors there were. There had to be thousands all along the walls, catwalks stretched over an area the size of a large professional football stadium. The door he and Sigma had come through had an exit sign over the frame. Each "floor" of catwalk connected to six different exits. Little children ran along the pathways, some significantly slower than others. They were humans playing with ghouls. The actual club was at the bottom of the ovoidal space. The suspended dance floor was lit from above and below. Faintly lit humanoid figures milled about dancing, talking, behaving just like anyone would at a party. Some of them were wearing mask, those that weren't had an armband on. Footsteps echoed in the domed roof above them. Even now more patrons were coming in, some with their own masks, others with simple black ones.

"No newbee's today, huh?" Sigma was looking at the arriving others too. He handed Shirazu a simple black domino mask. "Club protocol is for ghouls to wear a mask, humans wear either a membership band or a guest band. You might be human but you smell like a ghoul, best not confuse people."

"What is this place?"

"Heaven." Sigma grinned at Shirazu while he slipped the mask on.

"Aneki!" Two of the children ran up to Sigma. The pair looked somehow quizzical to Shirazu.

"Did you just get back, Sigma nei-san?"

"Ah~ Alice and Usa. I haven't been home for a while, Sorry~!" Shirazu realized the disparity when the boy, Usa, turned to face him; one of the child's eye was a kakugan. They looked like twins, or at least close siblings.

"Who is this Mister?" little Alice piped up, hiding behind Usa.

"Shirazu." Sigam said without pause. He pulled a mischievous face. "Where's your mom at Alice-hime?"

The little girl blushed at his compliment "S-she's at work. Onei-san is playing with me until she comes back."

"Oh~. Well you two run along okay~. Ah, and Usa, be careful now, your sister isn't as strong as you remember."

"I'll be careful, Aneki!" The boy scooped up Alice and sprinted away at inhuman speed, all the while she laughed, egging him on to go faster.

"Was that boy-"

"A ghoul? Yes, but Alice isn't." Sigma's voice had dropped off into a flat clam tone. "They have the same mother. She fell in love with a ghoul who was killed shortly after she conceived. Domino-sama took care of her and Usa was born, hale and hearty. He did his best to mend his mother's heart but it wasn't enough. She was saved from her years long battle with depression by her son's energy and the love of another human, Alice's father. Unfortunately he doesn't know Alice exists." A sad smile briefly flashed over the ghoul's face. "Those two are so close but they can never truly be together. Hatreds that they can't suppress will separate them in time."

Shirazu couldn't help but feel that he was seeing a side of ghouls that no one, well no one but Sasaki, could ever understand. They descended the spider webbing like walkways into the club below. Many ghouls and humans socialized, danced, or debated, all of whom stopped to greet Sigma as he went by. The dance floor itself was the center of some kind of pub with food for both humans and ghouls alike on the menu. Raised seating areas surrounded three sides of the floor, a long stairway leading to the DJ's perch and beyond, that split in two different directions hidden by the decorative faux walls. Sigma lead him off to the right. It was a dimly lit hallway hewn from crude stone the width of the metal flooring. They reached yet another door and Sigma stopped, turning to face Shirazu.

"He is just beyond this door?" Shirazu did his best to sound calm. Sigma's one eye gleamed warily in the half-light.

"Do your best to be respectful. More than just your life depends on it." Shirazu swallowed as he pushed the cool metal to one side. The room was dark save for two candles flickering on either side of an ebony and obsidian throne. A young boy much too small for the great seat swung his legs in front of himself, humming. He was wearing a black suit, shirt, and tie. A solid shapeless black mask covered his whole face. even his hair was black. The only spot of color anywhere was the crimson ires of his kakugan.

"We heard you wished to speak with us, Quinx Squad Leader, Ginshi Shirazu, Rank 3 Ghoul Investigator." The door echoed shut behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Quick warning: My normal editor for this story is m.i.a. so I'm not sure if I have caught everything (something like that for Ch4 too)** **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 5: A Hangman's Noose, die Dunkelheit Schließt

The girl they had found on the rooftop with Lover had calmed down some. She was sitting in an interview room sipping on a cup of coffee with Mado questioning her about what had happened. They had been trying to get her to cooperate for nearly three hours, it was late and everyone was tired. Sasaki walked back in with a fresh pot of coffee he had brewed. He poured her some. She gave a polite thank you, Mado didn't say anything when she got hers. He dropped into his seat with a sigh. "Listen- Aya was it?- that ghoul on the roof you said he was going to attack you but now you're defending him. Might I ask why you are refusing to answer our questions."

Much to their surprise, the girl laughed. "I'm surprised you believed me. Isn't it obvious that I'm buying him time to get away for you?"

"What?" Mado was standing now, glaring at Kotoro Aya.

"I won't let you hunt down the man I love," she responded quietly. "I know what he is doing is wrong. Killing people. But that isn't everything. He teaches us how to survive. To fight through pain and suffering that doctors can't heal. He gives us love and attention, support and kindness, when other would ignore, berate, or injure us. And when he has taught us all he can, he gives us a choice." Sasaki was startled by the passion in her voice This girl was truly in love with a ghoul knowing full well what he was and that she was neither the first nor the last of his victims. "Live without him or if we cannot give ourselves up as food for him."

"So that's why none of his victims struggled. If he made them feel happy then they wouldn't want to slump back into their suicidal tendencies. The vics are the people who refused to go on without him. Lover is a clever bastard, preying on people's need for others." Mado clicked her tongue when she had finished speaking, angered by Lover's practices.

"I didn't need saving, anyway." Aya cut through Sasaki's thoughts. "He was letting me go. I'm one of the strong ones. I'll live like he wants me to. He only eats those he can't save. It just so happens that's most of them." She smiled at him. "You picked a good name for him, Lover, I like it."

"You do understand that he is just using you, right?" He prompted Aya.

"No, you're the one who doesn't understand. Lover is different, he hasn't killed his humanity."

"Humanity?" Mado was incredulous, "Ghouls don't have humanity. They aren't human to begin with."

"That's a shock Miss Mado, you work with a ghoul, right?" she gestured in Sasaki's direction. He shifted uncomfortably.

"He's different, Sasaki only half ghoul, and he was made into a ghoul."

"Exactly!" Aya shot up suddenly, both of the investigators jumped. "Ghouls are born with an instinctive respect for life but from the time they are children they are raised, taught, to devalue it. They have morality the same as humans. They understand right and wrong, maybe even better than we do, and are forced to live the worst life possible. If they are born with the only thing they eat being humans or other ghouls is it really their fault?" She was staring at Mado, a finger pointed at Sasaki, "Is it his fault that he was turned into a ghoul?" She looked at him as if hoping he would support her but Sasaki looked away. Aya, crest fallen, sat down again and grew very quiet, refusing to answer any other questions. They had come full circle with no results. Sasaki knew that if he dwelt on what she said it would shake his resolve.

For the past three hours Aya had been fiddling with something in her pocket. It could be pertinent to the investigation and he was out of options. "Kotoro-san, what is it that you're playing with, exactly?" Sasaki was done playing 'good cop' for Mado, his face slid into a somehow natural expression of annoyance and intimidation. Aya shuddered. Mado flinched slightly adding to the effect. The rebellious civilian quickly dropped the contents of her pocket on the table. It was a red domino tile. Mado's expression changed into something like recognition.

"I'll borrow this. Come on Sasaki, we have work to do."

His face relaxed into a gentle smile, "Thank you for your cooperation Miss Kotoro." and followed Akira out. Two agents from victim relief moved into the room after they left.

It was too late to get to work right away but Mado still managed to write a full report on the interview and send Sasaki on several errands to retrieve old case files. He didn't get back to the penthouse until near midnight. As Mado always did on a big case, she gave him homework to do. He would have to wake up early tomorrow as well. Shirazu had come back some time later that night. The loud crash from the kitchen followed by his distinct and colorful language accounted him.

Sasaki didn't remember falling asleep. He lifted his head wearily from the desk and glanced around his darkened room. The desk was next to his bed, in front a window overlooking the East of Tokyo. The bookshelf dominated the far wall, a reading chair nestled in the corner. From where he was sitting the bathroom would be through a door on the left while the right would lead out to the downstairs, where Shirazu was making enough noise to wake the dead. At least he had changed out of his work clothes which were hanging on the wardrobe against the right wall. It used be in the corner but he had punched a hole in the wall doing something he couldn't really remember, so he moved the wardrobe to cover it up.

Sasaki knew he needed proper sleep. He flopped down onto the black linen sheets, burying his face in the pillow, letting himself drift off. He wasn't really sure how long he was asleep for but he was woken up by a sudden crash from his bathroom. He jolted up. The light was on. A young man dressed in some kind of black combat suit was cleaning up contents of Sasaki's shower basket. A great number of things had been displaced. _Who is this and why is he going through my stuff?_ "Hey!" The young man suddenly turned around.

He had dark hair, abnormally pale skin, and a black mask that cover most of his face, except for his left eye. That eye was the first thing that wrenched Sasaki from his drowsiness, it was a kakugan. _A ghoul! How did a ghoul get in here?_ He was expecting the ghoul to rush him but the stranger remained where he was, staring at Sasaki. The mask was made of leather covering from the chin to the bridge of the nose, two strings connected to an eyepatch that cut through his onix hair, an incredibly detailed mouth was shaped over his with a zipper that could allow him to eat without needing to take it off, and there were two, silver, gasmask air filters affixed over the pulse points just behind the jaw. Sasaki's breath caught in his throat. There was no words to describe the wrongness. It wasn't him, Sasaki knew that, but even though he couldn't remember, he knew that mask was his own. "Who are you?" was all he could say. The ghoul moved faster than he could hope to follow.

Sasaki bolted up, it was morning, he was in his bed. He ran into the bathroom, it was exactly the way he left it. _What was that? A dream?_ He clenched his teeth together. A sudden searing pain jolted through his jaw. He, with little effort, pulled a cracked tooth from his jaw. A new one soon took its place. The tooth was a stress fracture. Being a ghoul it wouldn't be surprising if Sasaki had done that himself in his sleep but...it didn't rule out the fact that someone could have actually been in his room last night. _Why am I still alive? If a ghoul was really here then why wouldn't they kill me when they had the chance?_ He reasoned out that it must have been a nightmare. That is until he walked over to the files on his desk. A domino tile lay on top of the documents a note next to it, "Truths only ghouls can see." it read.

*TIME(You can guess what this means by now)

Mado paced and stared at the note Sasaki had brought in with him. After a brief inventory it was apparent that the intruder from last night had somehow taken the tile from the CCG office and placed in Sasaki's room."He is leaving us clues, why? What would Lover have to gain from having us solve the puzzle?" No one had an answer. Shirazu scuffed his foot against the floor, Mitsuki's head was down, Seiko munched on sweets in the corner, and Urie was chewing again; he had been making an active attempt to suppress his...condition, but it didn't seem to be doing much good. _Why would he want us to know the answer? Why would he help us? Who is he, the Eyepatch ghoul? He couldn't be working for Lover…_ The answer came to him, it was simple that it seemed impossible.

"Unless," Sasaki stood suddenly, walking over to the old cases, "it isn't Lover's puzzle we're solving."

"B-but why wouldn't it be Lover?" Mitsuki stammered. Sasaki looked around when he realized that he had lost them.

"These cases," he tapped the large box on his desk, "Sure the domino is a connection but if we look carefully things don't match up." Mado smiled and nodded, gesturing for Sasaki to explain it to the Quinx. "There are five different kagune used over separate assaults, so there has to be at least five individuals." He pulled out relevant files.

"A gang then? Some organized group." Urie was a bit too eager to get involved in brainstorming. "But that still doesn't make any sense. If they are ghouls wouldn't they hide from the CCG rather than do something like this."

"What if it's like two competing factions?" Seiko piped up, surprising everyone. She glanced around before continuing sheepishly, "Well it's like in an rpg where you can pick different groups to join. The two groups will fight each other in the game so maybe it's one faction of ghouls trying to get the CCG on their side for a big confrontation of some kind."

"So," Sasaki began, "what should we call these? The Domino Murders?" Shirazu visibly flinched. "Bad name?"

"N-no," he shifted his weight on his feet, "It's just something...ah, never mind it's not really that important. We know how Lover is connected to this group but what about Nuts? She was our original objective right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that we are dealing with more than just Aogiri. Another large and organized group of ghouls could be disastrous." Mado stared Shirazu down. She had the criticizing look on her face that Sasaki had come to dread. _It all comes down to a playing tile in the end. What a strange way to get a message across._

 **The plot thickens. Dun Dun Dun...**


	6. Chapter 6

**(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 6: Ravens and Writing Desks, Der Tödliche Arzt

Ayato paced on the roof of a rather tall building, each motion punctuating his annoyance. Eto was late. Very late. They had been assigned an important task and she wasn't punctual, as usual. He heard the light, sighing laugh that accompanied Eto's presence. "'Bout time you got here." He snarled, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to show?"

"Sorry, Kirishima-kun." She didn't seem sorry at all. More likely she found his irritation hilarious. Aogiri had run into some... problems regarding deaths of their informants. The One-Eyed King called the two of them in to deal with that "problem". The structure on which Ayato had been pacing was the perfect vantage point for launching a counterattack. Under normal circumstances Aogiri would just abandon the base but Dr. Kanou's research was being stored in the subbasement. If Ayato was honest with himself, he would admit to being afraid. There had been no survivors. The data on all of Aogiri's officers would also leave Toka, his shitty older sister, at risk, if the CCG were to get their hands on it. The mission was to exterminate the invaders and reclaim the good doctor's work. If the worst case scenario was true then the CCG would be able to launch organized assaults on a large number of Aogiri bases.

There wasn't a whisper from the old factory building for those many hours Ayato was waiting. _If the CCG did find this base why wouldn't they secure it? An Aogiri location this close to a human populace is more dangerous than any case they would be working right now, so where are they? No way it could be a lone assailant. We had too many troops for that._ Eto jumped, or rather skipped, off the building onto the factory roof below. Her petite stature even more miniscule against the massive backdrop. Ayato followed, landing heavily on his right leg. The firmness of the shock wave rippling up through his body was an odd, but pleasant, feeling.

The factory, dingy and run down as it was, was a crucial sleeper cell location for a direct attack on this district. It being discovered, not to mention taken from them, was a big loss. The pair of ghouls dropped through a broken skylight onto a metal catwalk above the factory floor. They lost contact with the cell less than a day ago but the stench that curled up from the ground was far too fetid. Something was definitely wrong with the scent. While any ghoul would find the taste of another repulsive the scent of flesh was the same for either a ghoul or human corpse. Even still, ghouls have a natural gag reflex when they smell food that is to rotten to eat. Ayato was almost dizzy with nausea.

Bodies were strewn everywhere. Some mangled in horrible ways, others with expressions of agony warping their features, and even more where partially eaten only to be tossed aside when they were dead. "Eerie~" Eto said, her voice still perfectly calm. One thing if nothing else was abundantly clear, this was the doing of a ghoul, and a powerful one at that. Ayato lead the way to the sublevel. The farther down they went the more horror they saw. Most of the time he didn't care if the week died but to be killed in such twisted ways and then displayed like a trophy, that was wrong. Aogiri's pride, and by extension his own, had been insulted and no one got away with that.

Eto pranced ahead into the next room and then stopped to stare at the bodies carefully lined up in rows. Most of them were women and children, those that Aogiri had forced to join, each killed cleanly and set aside with...grief? Was the intruder sorry he had killed them? _What the hell is this guy thinking?_ His scowl pulled into a snarl and his eye's shifted into kakugan. Ayato balled up his fists. "I'll kill that bastard." It wasn't until Eto snickered that he realized he had vocalized his feelings. He simply huffed at her and stalked onward.

Echoing sounds of surgical equipment hastened their stride. A muffled whimper twisted a spike of foolish hope in Ayato's heart. The food processing room had been turned into an impromptu laboratory, more of the same twisted corpses litter the various tables. The room itself was below Ayato and Eto as they came, the same type of metal walkway encircled the perimeter with a single stairway leading down. It was well lit, large splashes of blood painted the off-white walls crimson. A tall, emaciated, stick of a man, stood over a flayed open ghoul, bound to the table. He was dressed in a tailored black suit with a red tie, a doctor's coat, old fashioned, heavy duty, medical gloves, and a bloodstained surgical apron. It didn't seem to do much good considering the coat was also speckled with crimson. Ayato stood, frozen in shock. How was it possible that this guy wiped out the entire Aogiri force?

The "doctor" chuckled, picking up a scalpel. "I really love working with ghouls, such well behaved patients, such durable bodies, too." He sliced into his victim's left ventricular, eliciting a scream. He laughed, a laugh that dripped with insanity. He pulled a red domino tile out of his pocket and pushed it through the incision. The poor ghoul on his table couldn't even twitch anymore. "You've been so good that I just might let you live." His patient whimpered. "Nah." With a practiced and sudden ease he flicked the scalpel, severing the primary arteries. It bled out in seconds. The doctor straightened up, as much as he could with his hunch, and adjusted some kind of specialized lence on his mask. It was a bone white bird's skull in design, perhaps a mockery of old plague masks, a large crack ran down from the right side to just above his brow, a red eyepatch attached over his right eye with a large black "A" on it. The mask only covered the upper half of his face. His short, greasy, feather thin hair shifted slightly as he turned to face them. "Ah? What's this then? Did I miss some?" A demented grin flashed out from under the beak.

Three ghouls stood there for an eternity in seconds, one horrified, one impassive, the last, eletaited. Ayato's kagune flared out as he charged down the steps. Indignant, obstinate, fury burning in his eyes. "A" kept stepping just out of reach, cleaning dodging any projectiles Ayato launched at him. Eto watched from the doorway.

*POV

It's not like she hated Ayato, he was fun to play with after all, but he was too quick to let emotion dictate his fighting. The stranger wasn't even that fast but he was certainly experienced. To be able to evade Ayato's attacks so easily, it didn't help that Ayato telegraphed them, means that he was very skilled at reading opponents. She saw everything, every action, every reaction. It was no surprise that this ghoul would finally start fighting back. He was a bikaku type.

The insectoid tail flicked over his right shoulder and slammed into a table, barely missing Ayato. It was segmented, thin almost hair-like spines ran down its length ending in a wicked looking stinger. Before the doctor had looked like a vulture, now he was a scorpion. Ayato stepped well out of range. The doc's tail dropped down to his waist. He pulled a long curved needle out of his coat pocket and leered at them. "I designed this myself," he chuckled, "it took quite a bit of work but the results are well worth it." The stinger on his tail unfolded, he gently placed the needle in it, and folded it closed again so the stinger had more of a point. He charged Ayato this time. Ayato was having a hard time. Part of this opponent's strategy was intimidation and it seemed to be working.

The tail lashed forward again, Ayato evaded, another close call. It struck a corpse that had been slumped against the wall. The body began to decompose at an alarming rate. Eto knew then and there that this wasn't someone to play around with. Ayato was going to fail. She stared at the fetid pile of flesh and everything just clicked into place.

Ayato's agonized cry snapped Eto out of authorial trance. His right leg was shattered, he couldn't get away from the mad doctor's final strike. Even with her immense speed the tail was uncomfortably fast. She grabbed Ayato and bolted. There wasn't enough room for her to fight well and one hit from his stinger would be game over, even to a kakuja. His insane laughter rippled through the night behind them. "Run run little birdies! Fly back to your cage and tell them that Alpha sent you!"

Ayato swore under his breath.


	7. Chapter 7

**(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 7: The Madness of Akihiro Kanou, Der blutige Niedergang eines Wissenschaftlers

Doctor Kanou, mad as he was, was useful. Although Eto had been in near constant contact with him, the good doctor had disappeared, fallen right off the face of the world, after he had gotten his hands on her father. that was nearly three years ago. Since then she hadn't heard a peep from him or any of the subordinates Aogiri had lent them. Then there was that man, "Alpha", he didn't smell like a ghoul and yet he did. Just like Eyepatch, that lovely young man that had killed Yamori. Dr. Kanou had a hand in the creation of that ghoul, she was sure of it. He needed to explain himself. Her gapped smile creeped over her features, she would just have to bring Ayato along now that his leg was mended. That would be fun.

Kanou had a laboratory hidden under one of the poorer districts in Tokyo city and while she had expected the buildings to be run down the same could not be said of her expectations for the lab interior. Ayato had complained at first but only silence grew between them. His perpetual scowl had warped into a lovely shocked expression. In much the same way as the factory from nights before, there were bodies left and right. Some seemed to be from Kanou's failed experiments others were Aogiri staff. Tubing and other wires were ripped from the walls, dim and broken emergency lights flickered.

Eto was indeed surprised at the state of place, not that she would show it. The smell was just awful as she skipped through the halls. Any corpses they saw were decayed beyond what could be feasible in a few days. None of them had the damage or warping that came with Alpha's poison. "They must have been dead for a while." Ayato's voice was hard.

"Hmm~," Eto turned to face him, "that could be, but don't you think we would have heard about this before now?" Ayato didn't respond. No fun.

The rest of the laboratory was in just as bad a shape. A few stasis tubes had exploded, dried, goob like fluid, stained the floor. Ayato knelt next to one, studying it.

"Eto, come look at this." She walked over to stand beside him. "The glass is blown out, see."

"So~?" She knew the reason.

"Tch, that means whatever was in here got out before it exploded." _Obviously._ "If this stuff," he gestured to the fluid, "is still here then maybe we can follow the footprints, find out where he was going?" Eto tilted her head to the side. _Why didn't I think of that?_

The prints joined up with four other pairs where they lingered in the center of the room before heading up to Kanou's data processing room and office, overlooking the main laboratory room. Crusted, bloody hand and footprints, as well as the occasional body, suggested that they met some kind of opposition. When they got into Kanou's office it was in ruins. Chairs overturned, desks smashed to pieces, computers ripped apart. All the destruction in the circular room was contained to the perimeter. A single, mostly eaten body in a white lab coat lay against the far wall. A gun lay just off center in the mostly untouched portion of the room.

One single monitor remained intact near the window. Eto could see the entire lab from this room. Kanou would know what was coming for him, the gun was probably his. Ayato tapped a few keys on the terminal. Miraculously it was still functioning.

No unread files. View last recording?

[Yes]

.No.

Ayato tapped the enter key and the screen lit up. It was the doctor reviewing his notes, a small dusky haired boy was playing in the center of the room with looked like a doll of the doctor. "Ah, Yukio-kun, be a good boy and play somewhere else for a while okay?" The child didn't respond immediately, instead twisting the doll's head off, slowly, deliberately. He stood up suddenly, "Yes, doctor." his voice was a monotone. When the child had left Kanou prattled on for a few minutes about "Yukio's condition" and the apparent successes in creating more half ghouls. He expressed hopes that they would be powerful weapons for Aogiri. The secondary screens that were still intact displayed the data he was talking about. Whenever he mention a specific experiment a bio would appear on the top left corner. "I am a little concerned about Yukio's ability to socialize with the staff. They are his future family after all." A bio of the boy also appeared. _Oh? He is an experiment too then?_

Name: "Kaneki" Yukio

Mother: Tatsuki Sen (Eto)

Father: Kaneki Ken (Eyepatch/ Centipede)

RC Levels: Error Unobtainable

Projected Ability Range: SSS

Status: Unknown

Eto's eyes widened, Ayato swore loudly. "All of the variables that went into his creation. The success of artificial birth alone is impressive." Kanou got excited and rambled on about the unprecedented nature of what he had achieved. All the while Eto fumed. The doctor's work had always been under speculation, and while interesting, had proven to be relatively inefficient. For every successful experiment there were dozens and dozens of failures. Even among those rare gems of brilliance the most powerful or promising of them, Kaneki Ken included, always backfired in some way. It wasn't until Kanou had stopped talking that her attention returned to the recording. He had stood up and was looking over the monitor. Ripping open a nearby desk draw he retrieved the side arm that now lay near the center of the room. They were coming for him now.

Eto grinned under her bandages. Faint screams and other sounds of general carnage drifted from the recording. Ayato shifted next to her, either nervous or anxious, enraptured by the unfolding drama. The first experiment that came bursting through the door was announced as Sigma. He was well built but thin with light brown hair. It was clear that he had been the most recent subject as his back was covered in fresh surgical scars and stitches. Curiously he was missing an eye, it was an old injury from the look of the scarring yet it hadn't grown back. Kanou shot a few rounds at him. They seemed to be rc rounds.

Another escaped experiment pushed past Sigma, this one labeled Gamma. His size and bulging muscle a sharp contrast to his scrawny counterpart. He took the remaining rounds like they were nothing, charging into the far wall. _That explains some of the damage._ The insane, scorpion like ghoul that they had a run in with earlier slinked into the office followed by another long haired, rather emaciated, individual. The unfamiliar one was identified as Beta, he was an ukaku type. Beta and the crazy bikaku doctor, Alpha, began smashing any equipment they could get their claws on. Lastly, a woman poked her head rather timidly into the room passively observing while her spider-like rikaku, seemingly with a mind of its own, dispatched any guards that followed up from behind. She was called Omega.

All of them wore simple hospice garb, except the Scorpion who had managed to acquire a lab coat, probably removed from the remains a worker. The confrontation lasted a few seconds at best, most of the damage to the room was complete and Alpha made his way over to the terminal about to turn off the feed. Sigma, having knocked the gun away, was holding Kanou up by the collar, practically drooling; the remaining three stood around in anticipation. A rather quiet and disinterested "Stop" caused Alpha to step away from the screen, and consequently the camera giving full view of the room. Omega removed herself from the doorframe walking fully into the office. The little boy, Yukio, beheaded doll still in hand, walked into the centre of the room, displacing the gun the last little bit with his stride.

Kanou was trying to beg now, convince the child that he was still necessary, that they were destined for greatness. The child remained unfazed, not a stitch of emotion showing in his perfect features. The five escapees started with something akin to reverence at the small figure. Every so slowly, an all too familiar smile spread over Yukio's features followed by a soft, airy, and very unsettling chuckle. He looked directly into Sigma's eye, held up the doll in his hands, gently gripped its right arm, and twisted it cleanly off. A broad, crooked grin warped Sigma's features. He slammed Kanou onto the desk, shattering it, and placing his foot firmly over the indicated shoulder, grasped Kanou's arm at the wrist and elbow, twisting it until the joint dislocated and the flesh tore. A final crunching yank ended Kanou's desperate scream as the limb snapped free.

The boy looked at Omega and gestured to the arm. She crossed the room, giving the child a wide breadth at took the severed limb from Sigma. She gave the child a slightly confused expression. He put the dolls torn arm up to his lip and gently removed the stuffing with his teeth. She copies the motion, sinking her teeth into flesh and tearing away a large chunk, instinctively eating it. Her kakugan activated as did the others. They all understood on the basest level what to do. Yukio then divided the doll into four other parts, hand them each in turn to one of the men. The whole scene took less than a minute. Kanou wasn't strong enough to yell anymore, he had lost too much blood from his missing shoulder. They were eating him alive, each taking from their assigned portion. The boy pulled the head of the doll out of his pocket and just stared at it. Omega knelt down next to the four ravenous males eating her own portion eagerly.

The boy didn't touch Kanou at all, instead he focused on the camera, his left eye a kakugan and his right a light ashy grey-blue. The smile on his face faded. He walked up to the terminal, tapped a few keys, and the recording cut out.

Ayato just stared at the blank screen, with his ever present scowl. Eto clenched her hands behind her back. In any other situation she would be fine but right now an uncontrollable rage boiled beneath her calm demeanor. "Well. I suppose we should find this Yukio. Kanou got what he deserved." Eto turned and left. There was a small part of her that was sad, Kanou was fun to watch after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**I bet you guys are tired of my set up. But trust me on this. S#!t is about to hit the fan. (One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 8: A Lover's Game of Chess, Ein Sorgfältig Ausgefalle

Shuu's phone buzzed in his pocket. Excitement bubbled in his heart; he was expecting a call from Yukio-kun about an assignment. He had recovered quickly. The young man had brought him a very nutritious dinner some nights ago and, with support from Kanae, had returned to hunting for his own meals. "Bonjour," he purred into the receiver.

"Nice to hear you're doing well, Shuu." He shuddered slightly when Yukio said his name. "I've got another hunt for you if you feel up for it."

"Anything for you, Yukio-kun." There was a long pause from the other end, what sounded like a woman saying "master", and a brief shuffle of papers.

"This one is going to be a lot harder to tackle," a young child's voice was saying something to Yukio although Tsukiyama couldn't make it out. Insatiable curiosity started to gnaw at him. "Kanae can't come with you for this one." That surprised the purple haired ghoul.

"Why?"

"I don't trust him just yet." Yukio remained quiet for an eternity in seconds, "Hiase."

"Eh?" The living reflection chuckled in Shuu's ear.

"The man you're going after is a CCG officer, Sasaki Hiase. He's no weakling. You'll have to hunt him seriously. Oh, and one more thing, I need him _alive_. Do you think you can handle it?" The full weight of what he was being ask for pressed down on Tsukiyama. Yukio was trusting him with a difficult task, there was no doubt it was crucial to his plans. He swallowed, suddenly nervous.

"Yes." Tsukiyama could picture the youths perfect, and sinister, smile in his response.

"Good."

*POV

Ayato gritted his teeth pensively as the sniveling bastard was begging for mercy. Turns out not all of the ghouls that worked under Kanou were killed. The few that managed to escape opted to disappear instead of reporting the incident. "Give me one good reason to not killing you," he snarled. Ayato had a fist full of the other ghoul's hair, pulling his head up while his foot, planted on the other's collar bone, crushed him down. A little more force and the pathetic waste of flesh would be kissing his head good-bye.

"I-I know where they are!" he wailed. Ayato stopped pulling, stooping down to look the deserter in the eye.

"What?"

"I know where they are. I-I'll tell you, just spare me." Ayato glanced over his shoulder to Eto. The dusky alleyway shadowed her bandaged face. It seemed to make her sinister in comparison to her normal, albeit sadistic, manorism. She nodded. He turned back to the panic stricken informant, a slight smirk twitching his lips.

*POV

Urie was a twitching wreck. Despite Sasaki's quiet aid he had been growing steadily worse. The doctor had called it rejection. Like any organ transplant there was a risk of the body attacking the new member instead of accepting it. Only this time it was the kagune attacking the rest of him. Eating away at him like a disease. There was a constant prevailing pain pounding in his head, throbbing in his shoulder, and an empty agony in his stomach. He gripped the sheets of his bed in anger and grit his teeth against another wave of anguish. The skin over his shoulder felt like it was boiling. His mind felt shadowed as a voice whispered from inside him. " _You are pathetic. Look at yourself, a weak, sniveling, arrogant, asshole."_

"Shut up," he responded shakily.

" _What is it that you want, hu? Recognition? Revenge? Respect? What motivates you to be such a bastard?"_

"I said, shut up." Urie snapped at the voice more forcefully. He was coming undone at the seams, actively attacking himself. He couldn't go on like this for much longer. _I signed up for this shit, though. It's my own fault._ Urie knew his personality was undergoing changes, he was losing self control, his ambition flagged. He convulsed in silence, but not alone.

Urie felt like someone tugged sharply at his head and was suddenly falling into a dark emptiness. He knew he was hallucinating but these nightmarish, lucid sloggs haven't happened while he was awake before. He opened his eye and was lying on a slab of marble above a twisted night sky. "Up" was the city of Tokyo in all its shining nocturnal glory. He looked around him, ivory steps lead to an ebony throne of thorns on the far end of the slab about ten feet away, the world plunged into infinity three feet from his head which was facing away from the lone seat. The square slab was the only thing in this place that felt secure. Urie didn't want to move, content to watch the bustling city night. The dream would soon be over.

" _I really hate you."_ Urie shot up, suddenly dizzy. A living shadow with a twisted grin had perched himself on the throne and was staring at him.

"You're-"

" _I really_ really _hate you, Kuki. You could not begin to imagine my disgust."_ Urie stared at the burning crimson stars that were its eyes, the only spot of color on him aside for the blinding white smile. He stood and glided toward Urie a horribly unnatural void in the shape of a man followed behind the glowing features, only visible by blotting out the light behind him. " _Do you know what I want, Urie?"_ He flinched back from the creature as it knelt over him, he couldn't move. " _I want to see you suffer an indescribable amount of pain, drown in despair, give in to the hopelessness, only to offer yourself to me, begging to be devoured. To just make it all stop. That is what I want."_ Urie couldn't breath, it was like being near to this thing was choking him. But, despite all his pain, everything was suddenly much clearer. His torment had a "face". He could fight back against the self destruction.

"You are a ghoul," Urie said calmly looking into the red orbs, "the ghoul that my kagune used to belong to." The void laughed harshly, surprising Urie, before lunging forward and sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

Urie shot off the silken sheets with a scream. Hand gripping his shoulder instinctively. He was uninjured. He stumbled to his bathroom and splashed water over his face. His breath came in ragged gulps. Looking up to the reflection of a tormented man, one-eyed kakugan burning forth. He knotted his jaw. "I will not let you," his knuckles turned white with the force he was grabbing the sink bowl with, "win." A shudder rushed through him, leaving him numb. _You are just another obstacle that I will overcome, nothing more._

*POV

Kanae stalked back and forth over the marble of the mansions entryway, his master human pet watching his distressed expression. Tsukiyama-sama had made a full recovery which was good but he had been promised something that he couldn't have. Kaneki Ken was a drug and Tsukiyama was an addict. "Oh, rose, oh rose, tell me truly. What should I do? My master is again bewitched. A trickster has stolen his hope and he is far beyond my powers to dispose of. Oh, rose," Kanae seized the delicate blossom pinned to his purple suit jacket and collapsed onto the milky stone.

The massive double doors swung inward and an ecstatic voice poured into the dim hall. "I'm home~!" Shuu marched up to Kanae and stared down at him with a bemused expression. "What are you doing, Kanae-kun?"

"Contemplating, sir."

"Je vois." His famous grin swept over his features and knelt down next to him. "Kanae-kun, I have a very special task for you."

*POV

Sasaki twirled a pen in his right hand studying the evidence folder on his desk; the rest of the Quinx Squad, aside from Urie, were all busy putting up a crime board that mapped Lover's activity. _Two years of murder's just swept under the rug. Two years of killing and no investigation. Two years of a killer getting away with it._ The pen nearly snapped under Sasaki's sudden grip. He glared at the board. Mitsuki flinched in his periphery. Shirazu swallowed. Seiko ducked out of sight. Mado looked at him and returned her gaze to the map. He took a large draught from his coffee and walked over to add a point of his own. Kotoro Aya, the girl that Lover spared on the roof of a parking garage, close to the school, and the domino that she was given. _We are solving a puzzle without having all of the pieces._ "Urie was right," he glanced over to Mado, "the school is the epicenter of all the strange ghoul activity in the district."

"I agree, 1st class Sasaki, the leads we have right now all point to that academy." Mado shifted her weight the her breath came short and pensive, piquing Sasaki's scenes. "We should head there now."

"What about Urie?" Shirazu was clearly uncertain. Sasaki gave him the gentlest smile possible.

"I'll check on him."

*POV

Mitsuki Touro watched his mentor retreating form. Urie had been acting strange recently both Sasaki and Shirazu seemed to know something but had kept quiet. _A whole new threat to deal with and one of our squads strongest isn't well. Not even Mado-san knows what is going on. I'm so useless in this situation._ He was snapped out of his brooding by a tug on his sleeve. "Are you coming, Touro-kun?" Seiko looked concerned.

"Hurry up." Mado called dismissively as she too turned to leave. Mitsuki grabbed his coat and quinque dagger before rushing after the three other investigators.

The academy wasn't that far really, which was incredibly unnerving. _An active predatory ghoul going unnoticed this close to a CCG office, unreal._ The campus looked more like a collage than a private High school. Large verdant plant life was everywhere coupling nicely with the buildings that almost seemed to grow out of the gardens. The air was heavy with flowers' perfume but not oppressive. Just being there was euphoric for Touro. Every breath felt fresh like the countryside, not a hint of city smog, but there was something unnerving. _Flowers shouldn't be blooming this time of the year._ "This place must be really expensive to attend," he commented.

"Yeah," Shirazu's reply held a similar wonder.

"We'll have plenty of time to look around," Mado glared at the administration building while she spoke, "while we talk to the faculty, staff, and students." She glanced at the three of them. "Split up and cover a different section of the campus. I'll head to the North-east admissions block." She started to make her way swiftly before Shirazu yelled after.

"What about us?"

"You're squad captain, Shirazu. Figure it out," Mado was out of sight before he could respond. _She's a fast walker._

"Tch, Uh, so Seiko should go...um," Shirazu glanced around for some direction, "South-west to those club buildings over there. It looks like they might be setting up some school festival so talk with some of the students, okay?" Seiko nodded before bouncing away into a crowd of high schoolers. "I'll go this way," he pointed to a series of laboratories to the South-east, "You should check the gardens and sports fields that'a way." Touro had no complaints, being given the greenest area on campus to explore would be soothing.

A single pathway lead from the main gait to a fountain square. From there it was just a few turns until Touro stepped into a miniature forest. The sweat tint to the air was stronger here. The canopy above whisper excitedly as the wind brushed through it. Quasi scattered clearings of various size were adorned with picnic tables, patios, the occasional gazebo, and statues of various make and age lining the footpaths between them. He crossed over a babbling stream. There wasn't a bridge but it was thin enough that a single bound could clear it. Touro didn't mind that either.

Several students were clustered by an infinity pool on the chairs or sitting in the grass. They had a uniform that might have passed for a suit that is except one. He didn't look particularly tall, he was sitting on the edge of the group, and didn't appear to be interested in the others conversation. He had on the same dress pants as the other boys but wore a zipped up hoodie that obscured most of his face. Loose dark hair peeked from under the rim a sharp contrast to his pale skin. "Ne, ne," one of the more excited girls jumped up and tugged gently on the loner's arm, "why don't you show your face to anyone? You know those nasty rumors are only getting worse right? As your class rep I'm worried you know." _A class rep, hu? She might be worth talking to but what is up with that guy? They don't know what he looks like either, creepy._

The hooded teen looked over in Touro's direction. The investigator felt his heart sink.

*POV

The bar was quiet and empty during the day. Uta didn't have any customers coming by his mask shop either so he decided to spend the day with the other clowns. But, much to his annoyance, he was quite literally the only person there. He pulled a small white domino tile out of his ripped skinny jeans pocket. Expert fingers traced the elegant "D" carved into the back. As an artist Uta had a great respect for the detailed work. He mused about the strange ghoul that had given it to him. _What an interesting mask they wore_. It would seem to him that a great deal of entertainment was coming his way.

 _Move one: Pawn to E4_


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry about the long wait, I had to re work the entire plot line because I felt like the story was heading in a different direction. The very end will still be the same though. :)**

Chapter 9: The Stage Is Set, Um Wie Ein Jäger Entführen

The roughly hewn stone halls were quite aside from a single pair of footsteps that echoed steadily through it. Just farther ahead the mad doctor was tinkering with another twisted experiment for God knows what. That was where Beta was headed. Debrief the psychopath. _Fucking great. Why did we have to bring this guy with us! Alpha, you crazy bastard if you try anything I swear..._

"Ah, Beta-kun! It's been awhile since I saw you last." Alpha elated, brandishing a bonesaw, when Beta had reached the archway. The lab was clean, well lit, and state of the art. You would never had guessed if you had only met Alpha. His only love was his work.

"Not long enough for my taste." _Creepy old loon._ Beta looked down from a raised walkway. The flooring transitioned from stone to tile before a door that was Alpha's private quarters and a couple of stairs to the lab floor. The doc was working on something, looked like a prosthetic arm. _Wait that's not metal..._ "What is that?" That was a mistake.

"I'm so glad you asked!" Alpha picked up his prototype to show it off better. "It's a new arm for that odd friend of ours. Built it myself and it's quite a lovely little number if I do say so! You see I was thinking 'What if I could isolate a ghoul's healing ability? The medical applications could be limitless!' So I got to work using kagune as the base material."

"Wouldn't that turn any human that uses it into a half ghoul though?"

"Oh, no, no," he chimed, gently replacing the limb on its stand, "the mechanical portions function like the CCG's anti-ghoul armor. It wouldn't be any different from using a quinque. With the added bonus of encouraging cellular regeneration at a steady pace."

"That's...actually kinda brilliant, Doc."

"Yes, well," Alpha was too calm, something very ... unpleasant was about to happen, "I do actually need your help to finish it. I need an ukaku type's unique crystallization pattern. Luckily you're just in time to make a donation." Beta took a step back when Alpha picked up his bonesaw again.

 _Shit._

*POV

"GHAAAAAAA"

Omega and Gamma both looked in the direction of Beta's scream. "Hmph, Alpha's at it again," the latter rasped.

"Poor guy." Omega responded somewhat coldly.

They were in a circular room with a surprising amount of natural light. Each one seated in a chair a few paces from a large mahogany desk. The walls were painted to look like a panorama of the Tokyo skyline. At night the background would look darker and lights on the buildings would come on. Perched atop the desk and studying the wall art was a small boy in a solid black tailored suit with dark hair and eyes. There was a black, featureless, full face masked in his lap that was much too big for him. He swung his legs back and forth. "Alpha-san is scary, isn't he?"

"Not really, Hiderou-kun. You just have to get to know him first." Omega responded gently.

 _Hmm. I see._ "Anyway, Domino-sama wanted to talk to you two so..." Hiderou picked up the mask so that his face was covered before clearing his throat. His job was a simple one, listen to what Domino told him and then repeat it to others. Of course he added a bit of theatrical twist to the whole thing to make the words his. "We called you here to discuss something that has been troubling us."

"What is it Milord?" Omega seemed a little too happy that Domino had called on her.

"If you called both of us then it must be a matter close to home'" Gamma nodded crossing his massive arms.

"It's Sigma. His behavior has grown erratic as of late. Have you noticed anything pressing?" Gamma gave a deep sigh and Omega twirled her hair nervously. Hiderou heard Domino give an irritated moan into the mic " _That's a no, then._ "

Gamma finally broke the silence. "Sigma has not returned for some time, now. I speak for all of us when I say the generals are worried for our comrade."

"We are also aware of the CCG identifying and beginning the hunt for 'Lover' as they call him," Domino lamented.

"Oh, yes, that would definitely give _you_ pause wouldn't it." Omega chuckled.

"How many clues do we have to give them!" Hiderou did his best to mimic Domino's exasperation.

Gamma shifted forward in his seat, angling towards the desk's hidden microphone. "Do you want them to solve the puzzle that quickly?"

"It is not the CCG's pace that bothers us, but rather their goal and Aogiri coming close to forcing our hand."

"I see. Then it is finally time to start playing the game seriously?" the she-ghoul hummed.

"Yes."

Omega and Gamma exchanged a look of equal terror and excitement. Hiderou listen very carefully as Domino instructed him on the next few stages of his plan. He dropped the mask back onto the desk and hopped off revealing a chessboard set up behind him. After moving a piece he turned back to the generals and smiled. "Domino-sama, had a cruel sense of humor."

*POV

Sasaki found Urie passed out in his apartment bathroom and while not entirely surprising it still worried him deeply. For the past week the young man had been getting worse. Mado had noticed but refrained from asking, for which he was thankful. She had seen them three days ago having coffee and going over some different coping methods.

He lightly tapped Urie's face in an attempt to rouse him. The sleeping investigator moaned and tried to sit up. He seemed paler than normal, except his cheeks, ears, and neck were flushed. Sasaki supported him with one arm and ues his other hand to check Urie's temperature. Sure enough he was burning up.

With a short grunt he hoisted Urie over his shoulder. "Sorry, I know you'd rather not, but we need to get you to a doctor."

 ***POV**

A white haired half ghoul was making his way to the CCG's medical center with a very ill looking officer slung over his shoulder. Kanae's rinkaku coiled and twitched behind him. Every nerve in his body shrieked at him to destroy the abomination yet he could not. Tsukiyama-sama had made such a piteously remarkable recovery, he seemed so happy. "Oh rose," the young ghoul bemoaned, "what should I do? What can be done? But is it not far crueler to let master to suffer _his_ continued life?" He caressed the fragile bloom pinned over his left breast before running a hand through his indigo locks. "Why do such lowly creatures attract him so?" He took a breath to clear the rising feeling of disgust. "What must be done…"

He returned his gaze to the two officers. There was no doubt in his mind about Sassaki Hiase's identity. Kanae's grip on the cement tightened. The rooftop on which he was perched was the perfect launching point for interception. He could kill them before they had a chance to react. As if the universe had played some great practical joke on him, Tsukiyama Shuu had just leapt up next to him. "That seems fortunate doesn't it Kanae-kun. Although fighting that Sassaki man like this might be a bit disappointing, capturing him should be easy enough."

Kanae fixed his eye's on Tsukiyama's face, of what little of it could be seen.

"Now, remember, yo-"

"I'm not to get involved unless you are in serious danger, and even then I should only fight with the intent of escape." he completed the droll instructions. Yukio, that Schwien, still had the audacity to keep him from Tsukiyama's side, even if his life was being risked. It just wasn't right!

Shuu gave him a half smile.

 ***POV**

Arima stood, taking in the afternoon atmosphere of the city. He was waiting for someone. They had met before and she had intrigued him. The scent of coffee drifted lazily in the air and the sun was warm on his shoulders. He was engrossed in his novel when a slight touch on his arm alerted him to her presence. With one fluid motion, he marked his page and stood, turning to face his associate. "I'm glad you could make it Wakahisa-san."

She gave a soft giggle that was undeniably cute. "Arima-san, please, call me Emi, it's just so strange to be called by my surname. I hope I haven't kept you waiting."

"Not at all," He pulled a chair out for her, "please, have a seat."

"Thank you."

Arima was always a stickler for details, for observation, and was in such a habit of like things that he found it impossible not to notice the slightly sweet aroma that always clung to her. Or the way her hair was brushed over her left shoulder, leaving the back of her neck exposed. She had beautifully pale skin and gentle facial features. Slightly timid hazel eyes accented her raven wing hair. When she was fully seated he pushed the chair in and noted that she was very light despite being just slightly round. Arima wasn't looking for love, nor was he sure he had found it, but Emi lived up to her name. Her every move and gesture seemed innocent, yet somehow, lustful. "How have you been adjusting to Tokyo, Emi-san?"

"Ma~ It's a bit more intimidating than I thought…" she gave an airy laugh and scratched the back of her head. Arima could feel himself smiling.

"I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of ordering us some coffee and sandwiches."

"Ah~," she sounded excited, "I hope they're tasty." The childish smile plastered over her face lifted Arima's heart. Even though he still had his suspicions for the first time Arima wished he was wrong about her.

 _Move two: Knight to F3_

 **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**


	10. Chapter 9-5: I

**I really hoped that I could get chapters out faster than this... mahhh~ After reading some of the newer chapters from :Re I realized that my story has left all realms of reconciling with the plot. Darn. That means I have to think now...**

 **Also, I'm a hypocrite because I hate these kind of chapters that don't add anything to the story and is just the author rambling but here I am writing it... ugh. My beta reader bailed on me (i.e. irl friend that beta reads before I even post) so I'm looking for a stand in. I won't be updating this as I've gotten hooked into 5 different writing projects but fear not my comrades, I have a very short attention span and will likely return to this story before the end of November. During that time I'll be writing for it anyways so I think I'll post, I don't know, five chapters at a time?**

 **Reviews are a** ** _major_** **motivator as it assures me I still have an audience and I do really love your feedback :) I admit that my writing isn't perfect and I'll strive to be better for all of you!**

 **On that note I almost feel like adding responses to some of the reviews at the bottom of new chapters.**

 **Last but not least I have a poll I would like to set up in honor of over 500 views (WOOT!)**

 **Ahem:**

 **I'm going to kill of a main character to cement the final break from cannon. You may only select from the characters you have seen, OCs are also cannon fodder. Please begin with #TG:D-Kills, they'll be easier to sort. You can post in review, though I don't recommend it, or PM me with your answer. Remember, it's the character you want to die that you tell me. The poll will close with the next update to this story (added chapter). If your feeling especially cruel you can even tell me how you want them to get axed.**

 **There are a few exceptions, because plot armor but I won't tell you who.**

 **Pain and Suffering,**

 **Angela**


	11. Chapter 10

**To whom it may concern, "did I really just write that?" You'll know it when you see it. I think this kind of scene will be a one off kind of thing and I don't expect to write more of this (It's not TrashKan sorry to disappoint you) Also, Holy fuck this is a lot of words (at least for me) Who know about my update schedule I mean rly, I'm so unreliable! I shall go sit in the corner and punish myself for leaving this half done for so long.**

Chapter 10: A Snake's Apology, Ein Tausendfüßler in Sein Ohr

Sasaki groaned, his mouth was dry, his back and shoulders ached. He was tied to a chair, manacles affixed around his ankles. The floor had a black and white checker pattern in marble tile. It was caked in dry blood. His mind swam as he swallowed. Sharp pangs rocketed through his skull when he sat up. Manacles arrested his wrists and a rope dug into his stomach, keeping his back against the chair. The appearance of the room was beyond unsettling, yet terrifyingly familiar. Massive, red steel bars held up the dome roof reminiscent of a birdcage. Aside from the chair the room was empty.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." The voice had come from behind him, right behind him. His gray hair was given a sharp yank up straining his neck. "And how are we feeling then?" It was like hearing a distorted recording of himself. Whoever it was leaned over his shoulder. Sasaki could make out the mask, it was his, the one from that crazy dream a few days ago. _I have to be imagining this! It's in my head. This isn't real_. He squeezed his eyes shut, pain contorting his face. _Wake up, dammit!_

"It's useless," the figure whispered in his ear, "I want to have a nice long chat… but first, a question. What's 1000 minus 7?"

* _Crack_ *

 ***POV**

Omega leaned against the wall and swiped her tongue over her lower lip thoughtfully. She was studying the young CCG officer restrained on her table. She had gotten to keep him, though she wanted the white-haired one, when the Gourmet returned successful. Gamma had told her to be careful, so careful she was. Quinex were a whiley bunch after all. The worst was when the CCG hid knives and such in their clothing; she took the logical step of stripping him of everything but his boxers, a very nice pair with a simple white color, and strapped him down so her couldn't stab her with his borrowed kokaku. Looking at him made her hungry. Domino-sama had instructed her to help him recover, so he must be important, but her stomach vehemently protested the easy meal she was passing up. _Just a taste shouldn't hurt right?_

She perked up when a slight moan escaped from his throat as he blinked his eyes open. He was undoubtedly staring at the chains that hung in a spiderweb style on the ceiling; it was a pattern of her own making. Omega chuckled to herself when she saw him stiffen. Her prey gave a brief, precise pull at his bindings before deciding it was useless and becoming still. The only light in her playroom filtered through the chains and fell on his exposed torso. It was a very nice torso. Clearly well built with muscles that were just filling out. She liked low fat meals. He was scanning the darkness in which she lounged. The she-ghoul checked her half mask before stepping out to greet her awakened toy.

His gaze fixed on her with such intensity that she almost hesitated to approach. She walked in the manner of her usual disguise, rolling her hips to expose her long sculpted legs through slits up to her mid thigh. Her mask was red like her dress and curved to accentuate her cheekbones and the gentle slope of her jaw. The letter after which she was named emblazoned in black over her right eye. She leaned her shoulders back when she came to a stop next to him to add that little bit of femme fatale charm. While his gaze never left her one seen eye, she could tell he was dissecting every last detail he could find. Eyes were very telling to someone with experience at reading them.

She swiped her tongue over her lower lip again before purring "Nice to see you awake, officer."

He was silent. Rude.

Omega swung her leg over the table and, with a little shift, was straddling the young man in a provocative manner. Subtle changes like breathing, heart rate, and scents shifts were plainly open to her now. The violent rushing of his blood betrayed the stalwart face he wore. His breathing sharpened when she leaned over him, deeply inhaling his musky smell and streaking her fingers through his soft hair. She dragged her tongue slowly along his jawline and drew small circles down his neck to his collarbone. Every centimeter was appetizing with the tang of adrenalin. From the rigidity of his muscles he was clearly in the "fight" stage. She opted to stop her teasing when she heard the metal creaking under his straining.

She gently folded her hands over his chest to rest her chin, suddenly filled with curiosity. "What is it like?" He was looking at her with mixed disgust and confusion. "What is it like to eat normal food?" she clarified. "I wonder, I can't quite remember the taste of things. I have plenty of memories from my life before all of," she lifted one hand to make a vague gesture, "this…" He was calmer now, although still stiff as a board. "My Papa worked long hours, and I remember how tired he was when he came home. Worn to the bone, always, but never distant. He was a good parent and a good man." The officer flinched. "Every time he came home he would call out to me," a smile came over her face, "and I would always run right into his arms 'Welcome home, Papa,' I would always say. 'Now, my princess,' he alway sounded so serious when he said that, 'what would you like for dinner tonight?' I normally replied with something ridiculous and he would play along." She turned her head so that her cheek lay over his heart, one arm underneath her and the other draped over his shoulder. "So, you see, I have no shortage of happy memories but I can't remember the simple things, like how Autumn smells with a pumpkin latte, or being able to go in from the street and pick anything from the menu, or even being able to chew gum." Omega looked up at him wondering how his face had changed, if it did at all. "Fathers are great, aren't they. It's just a sad thing for me that my happiest memories are also the most hollow. What about you?" a sadistic smile touched her lips, "What about your Papa? The Owl got him right?" She could feel the tendons in his arm tearing from the force of his grip.

He seemed to be purposely trying not to look at her, determinedly staring at the chain-web. His lips looked nice and Omega was overcome with the desire to feel them. "How mean," she murmured before cupping his face in her palm. He was forced to look at her, pulse accelerating slightly in anticipation of attack. She kissed the corner of his eyes first and tasted surprise. Next moving to his lips, she was firmly denied access to his mouth; his jaw was practically locked closed. She was not about to give up though a decided to play a bit dirty. He was one of those that suffered from an animalistic instinct. For a ghoul such a thing wasn't so bad but for a human in his position, well, she could take advantage of that. Shifting her weight onto her hips rubbed her intimates against his. With only two layers of thin fabric separating them it was too easy to provoke a reaction. He gasped and she pounced. She wanted to play with him, see how he would react to her. He had broken the kiss as soon as he could. Omega could feel his pain, see his agony, taste the sweat beading on his skin. _So this is what Domino-sama was talking about. Poor guy. He was right to send him to me._ "The only way to subdue your monster," she hummed walking her fingers along his chest, "is to accept it and work it out of your system." She murmured lustfully against his ear.

"Fuck-" he growled when she dug her nails into his shoulder.

"That's the general idea." She pulled herself off of him to undo the interwoven strings holding the crimson dress to her back. "You should already know about rc pathways, that a ghoul gets stronger the more it fights. That weapon in your shoulder can't access the natural pathways of the circulatory system to its full potential. You didn't train enough, get hurt enough, for your body to adapt to the power increase, but don't worry. I'll break you in all the _right_ ways." Her laugh was accompanied by a pained scream.

 ***POV**

Shirazu glanced around the laboratories looking for someone worth talking to. It was way to quiet for a busy school in the middle of the day, not a soul to be seen. Getting creepier every second. The prickling feeling in the back of his head didn't help. It was like some unseen threat was staring at him. It wasn't until an all too familiar hand dropped onto his shoulder followed by a "Hey~ friend," that he knew just how fucked he was. His blood turned to ice. Sigma was right behind him and felt _very_ hostile. "What do you think you're doing wandering around like this? It's terribly~ rude not to call before you visit." The emphasis to the final "t" made a chill run up his spine.

Sigma's grip tightened and the young investigator had to fight not to scream. He was slammed into a row of lockers. With his "friend" just inches away, standing over him with overwhelming killing intent. His quinque had been knocked from his hand. As a long range kagune wouldn't help with Sigma this close, he was defenceless. He formulated a plan in seconds. _Fuck! I really hope this works._ He pulled a sidearm out of his belt.

"Ha~! What'cha going to do with tha~t. You know it won't do shit to me."

Shirazu smiled suddenly, he was right Sigma might be strong, but he wasn't that bright. "I'm not aiming at you!"

"Eh?"

*Blam* Water sprayed down from a broken sprinkler. The gun's recoil was stronger that he expected. Even though there wasn't anyone around to hear the shot the fire suppression system would pick up on the now running unit. Sure enough an earsplitting alarm went off. This was a school after all, the students would evacuate and his teammates would come.

Sigma's visible pupil contracted and he let out a pain cry, desperately trying to cover his ears. "You pest!" He roared, slamming his fist into the locker where Shirazu's head had been a split second before. The reinforced metal bent inward offering no resistance. _Yikes._

The investigator ducked and rolled over the slicked floor to his weapon. Whipping it out and taking a battle stance. He felt the veins around his eye bulge as his lighter colored kakugan activated. His shirt gave an audible protest when his kagune tore free.

Sigma's face went from absolutely livid back to his off balanced smile in seconds. "You're going to regret tha~t!" He waved a finger at Shirazu. His laugh echoing through the halls competing only with the alarm every other second. "Domino-sama wants you alive for now~. Ah, but soo~n…" he cut off, another bout of laughter ripping from him. "I wonder if you can bear it!"

Shirazu felt his heart sink. The ghoul had to have a reason for calming down that quickly. It couldn't be good. "What are you-"

"Ha~! Maybe I'll have a cute little brother after Omega-chan is done _breaking_ him!" Sigma stuffed his hand in his suit pocket before turning on his heels.

Shirazu knew immediately. A rage like he had never felt before jabbed out of his heart. How could he have been so stupid? Why? Why did he ever think that he could trust a ghoul? "Don't you dare talk about Urie like that, you bastard!" He charged.

Sigma side stepped still smirking. The ghoul's eye focused on something behind him and the smile dropped.

"Shirazu!" It was Mado. His backup had arrived alarmingly fast. She must have finished talking to the administrators while he had been walking in circles. Her quinque was a chimera type, the point was thrust in Sigma's direction. His loafers couldn't get the traction he would need on the slicked floor. Mado would hit her mark.

As the milliseconds slid by however, Sigma moved. He was far more agile than he seemed. Slamming his foot through the floor, he anchored himself, dropped below the strike, and, without removing his hand from his pockets, delivered a kick that sent the senior CCG officer flying.

Shirazu put both hands into a downward swing. Sigma caught it. He fucking caught itI Like it was nothing! Clicking his tongue he fired several point blank shots from his kagune at the masked madman. A dull crack noted that Shirazu's rounds impacted on something other than flesh. When the steam cleared he was staring at a black, metallic looking koukaku that had formed a protective shell over Sigma's body.

The ghoul yanked his foot free and delivered another kick, this time aimed for Shirazu's shoulder. _I'm fucked!_ His mind reeled for a way out of the blow. Blocking it was out of the question, as was releasing his weapon. Mado once again saved his ass when her quinque's bikaku whip coiled around Sigma's leg mitigating the blow to painful but not deadly.

It was Sigma's turn to click his tongue. "So~ annoying."

 ***POV**

Mitsuki whipped around when he heard the fire alarm go off.

"Sounds like it's coming from the Bio-Chem lab." The hooded young man stood as he spoke. It spooked Mitsuki how similar to Sasaki he sounded. "Wasn't one of your teammates there, officer?"

"Ah! Shirazu!" Mitsuki sprinted away and to his surprise the hooded young man was right on his heels. He didn't seem to be breathing heavily at all even though Touro was going flat out. _What is up with this guy?_

"This way," he deadpanned. If he didn't have the student following him, Mitsuki would have run straight past the fire door. "The main entries are electronic and their power is cut when the alarm goes off. These emergency doors are the only way in and out of the building and lead straight to the main stairwell."

"Oh, thank you." The duo pried open the door. A good bit of rubble was blocking the way into the lower floors and echos of a fight resonated just behind.

"We'll have to go around, unless you can do something about this."

"Let's hurry around then," he muttered nervously.

"I see."

They raced through the upper halls, skidding over the wet floors at every turn. Mitsuki was just cutting around a classroom when a very injured Shirazu went flying through the wall in front of him. The black koukaku that had thrown him retreated back into the hole before its wielder stepped out. Mado was being dragged by the hair, her weapon trapped in the armored flesh of the ghouls arm. The ring-like kagune, coiled around his shoulders and his upper body, creeping up his neck and crisscrossing down his right arm. Darker purple cracks formed briefly whenever he moved before it hardened again. Mitsuki froze when he locked eyes with the ghoul.

"Eh~, there's~ more of you? Ha! You guys are like rats, kill one and there's ha~lf a dozen more~!" He lifted Mado into the air and she snarled in pain. "I don't care about orders anymore. I'm gonna rip you all apart!"

"How unfortunate." The monotone behind Mitsuki declared. When the investigator looked back he saw the young man flip open a nearby locker. He lifted a simple half mask to his face, the hood falling when he brushed his hair back. The left eye remained visible but had shifted into a kakugan.

The ghoul in the white suit stared for a long time, a serious expression on his face. "You're-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as the teenage ghoul rushed him, putting up a guard at the last possible second. Mado fell to the floor with a gasp. Mitsuki sped over to his superiors side. Shirazu seemed to recover himself somewhat.

Looking up at the fight, Mitsuki gazed in awe at the speed the two ghouls were moving; the younger while notably faster, didn't hit quite as hard, giving the aggressive other opportunities to counter. It was clear, however, that the teen was stronger as he was quickly winning ground. When they broke away the black-clad ghoul was winded.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sigma. Do you forget your loyalties?"

"N-no!" The reply had a hint of desperation.

"You were given an order, _Sigma_ ," ice had crept into the monotonous voice making a chill run up Mitsuki's spine, "and you _will_ carry it out."

The one, whose name was apparently Sigma, snarled in response. "Fine." He turned on his heel and stalked away.

Mitsuki froze when the other ghoul turned his piercing eye on him. "I'm sorry about him. He had been bothersome recently. It won't happen again." There was no emotion as he spoke. He also hadn't used his kagune at all during the fight, a fact that struck the investigator only after the youth had started to walk away.

"W-wait!"

He turned.

"A-as a CCG officer I have to arrest you," he stood shakily and took out his knife.

"... "The young man laughed harshly, "Look after your injured, officer. Jokes like that make you into a fool." He wasted no more time, vanishing from sight, as if he had never been there at all.

"What the hell!" Shirazu grunted.

"Hold," Mado barked, "as much as I'm loath to say it, we are in no condition to go after them. Let's find Seiko. Sasaki should be here with Urie by now. We can regroup and then launch a counter assault."

 ***POV**

The side of Sasaki's face burned when the back of the ghoul's hand connected. Dried blood stuck to his hair and coagulated down the corner of his mouth. He glared defiantly up at the figment that stuck him. "You're not real." Again another blow came down on him.

"Just because you say something over and over, doesn't make it true, Sasaki. You're an investigator right? _Prove_ it."

"How can I," he laughed bitterly, "this is all in my head right? It _has_ to be. I'm insane! I've know it for a long time." The other's black nailed fist plunged into his stomach, forcing him to cough violently as he tried to catch his breath. His head slumped against Eyepatch's shoulder.

"That didn't sound like proof. You can do better. So tell me, how is it that this place isn't real?"

"Because," he was finally able to speak, gasping slightly as his body healed, "you're me. The me I was before I became Sasaki Haise." The other took a breath as if to say something when a loud bang cut him off.

A tall, very excited figure burst into the room and memories of a confrontation with the rakish ghoul came flooding back. It was an ambush, he had Urie swung over his shoulder, and he was attacked from above. He had managed to avoid the knife like kagune, but only just. He was rushed before he could put the invalid down. That was undoubtedly intensional. It made him vulnerable, easy to defeat. He had taken a blow to the head. It wasn't meant to kill but had succeeded in knocking him out. Sasaki had recognized the mask, it was Gourmet.

He took a sharp breath, pain and confusion swirling around in his head. The Gourmet was real, without a doubt, and was having a heated argument with Eyepatch. He could see Sasaki's tormentor meaning said ghoul must himself be real. Meaning this was real. Sasaki had really been captured. He was really being interrogated. He was really being beaten. And, most importantly, his captors really did have the ability to end him whenever they wanted. Sasaki wanted to summon his kagune but the all too familiar feeling of sluggishness in his regeneration informed him of the futility.

The ecstatic voice of Gourmet snapped him back into focus. "It's really him, my Kaneki! It's him! It's him!It's him!It's him!It's him!It's him!It's him!It's him!It's him!It's _him_!"

"Shuu," Eyepatch moved between the salivating ghoul and Sasaki, "back away, _now_."

"My Kaneki," he rambled on, "My beloved master, my fête!"

"Shuu!" the younger ghoul cracked his fingers pensively.

"I will have him. You will not get get in my way Yukio-kun."

"We need him alive!"

Instead of speaking the Gourmet's knife koukaku ripped through his bright suit and he charged. Eyepatch dodged and parried each blow with a careless ease. The only indication that he was exerting any effort was an irritated sheen in his one blue-gray eye.

With one fluid motion, he diverted one of Gourmet's strikes, breaking his guard, and delivering a devastating body blow. Four long, almost black rinkaku limbs tore free from his back and, each in succession, struck the indigo haired, sending him sprawling across the floor. Again Eyepatch moved to stand between Sasaki and Gourmet. It seemed strange that the ghoul that had just been beating him was now defending him.

"I lied to you Shuu," his voice was cold and sent a chill up Sasaki's spine, "I had never intended letting you anywhere near Kaneki Ken. He is valuable at this stage. The gambit is yet to be played. You however, are now expendable. I will kill you. Back off."

The Gourmet still in a spitting rage stood, albeit unsteadily, and glared at Eyepatch. "Je vois, Yukio-kun, I should have expected no less from _his_ son."

 _Who was he talking about?_

"Cleverness runs in the family," the injured ghoul limped out. "but, I will have Kaneki, sooner or later."

"Damn that fool," Eyepatch muttered before too making his exit.

Sasaki was left alone to think on what he had seen. All the implications of this begain to drown him. _Did I know them? Clearly Gourmet knew me, or at least of me. What about Eyepatch? He looks exactly like … me. No. It can't be possible right? I would know if I had any relatives. Arima would have told me. Unless they were also a half-ghoul… But he would still tell me right? It's Arima. Of course he would. Mado definitely would… right?_ He shook his head as if he could physically throw off those doubts. _Regardless, how long has this ghoul organization existed and what was my relationship with them? Was I a member? Is that why I recognized Serpent?_

His stormy thoughts were interrupted by a hesitant creek of the door. A familiar hooded ghoul peeked into the room before glancing back into the hall. Once he slipped in he made sure to close the door as quietly as possible behind him.

"Serpent?" Sasaki spoke without meaning to.

The hooded ghoul approached, cautiously at first but with more haste the closer he got. "Sasaki." He stated his greeting with a hint of concern.

"Why are you here?" the question seemed natural and despite a growing pain in the back of his head, it felt relaxing to be near Serpent.

There was a long pause where it seemed that at any second the ghoul would turn and leave. He kept glancing back at the door. The motion was nervous and when at last he speak it was in a barly audible whisper, "I'm going to get you out of here." This, naturally took Sasaki by surprise.

"Eh?"

"I'm going to get you out of here." Serpent repeated just a little louder.

"W-why?"

"What, do you want to stay." It wasn't phrased as a question, more like a statement of annoyance.

"N-no, of course not but… why are you helping me?"

There was yet another long pause where Serpent clenched and unclenched his hands "I still owe you too much to stand here and watch you rot. Kimi wouldn't have wanted that, either."

While Sasaki had no idea what the ghoul was talking about, after seeing Gourmet, he didn't much care how he managed to get out of… wherever he was.

"I'm sorry about Yukio," he said having moved around the back of the chair to snap off the restraints.

"You know I'll have to fight you as soon as I get out of here right?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll kick your ass this time, I've been practicing." Somehow Sasaki found it in his heart to laugh. Though his head still felt like it was splitting the calm that swept him along numbed him.

Serpent lead him through twisted passage after twisted passage. It was a labyrinth down here. Even if Sasaki managed to escape there would be no way to find his way back. He was so distracted by the grandeur of the place, he nearly didn't stop in time. Serpent had come to a dead halt, the reason for which was Eyepatch leaning his back against the wall just two meters in front of them. He turned his head to look at them and Sasaki swallowed nervously. The two ghoul gave a nod of acknowledgement and Eyepatch shifted, walking along with Serpent picking up the pace as well.

Sasaki gave a startled noise before trotting after them. "Uh, where are we going, and why are we going with him?" he whispered to Serpent.

It was Eyepatch who responded, "Because Shuu has become a problem, Domino-sama has changed the plan. Too many variables. He's the type that likes to be in control. Besides, I have verified your stability myself. You will be allowed to participate in the plan after all."

"What gives you any idea I'd cooperate with you?" Sasaki demanded, only slightly curious, but more incredulous.

"Your cooperation is not necessary for your participation." Eyepatch stated matter-of-factly.

Serpent gave an irritated huff. "But your cooperation is prefered." He almost seemed to be reminding Eyepatch of something.

"Wait a second," Sasaki ask in a serious tone, "how can I participate if I don't cooperate?"

Eyepatch stopped suddenly and too a side step to face Sasaki, looking him dead in the eye. "Because it is your nature." The investigator had opened his mouth though he had no reply. Thus they continued for sometime without speaking until at last they reached a door. "This will lead you to the surface, here." Eyepatch handed him red domino tile and a burn phone. There was a single number stored on it. "Take your time, officer. Domino prefers full disclosure to those who earn his trust. Call him when you see fit."

The door swung open behind him and another ghoul in a decrepit white suit with matching mask froze on the threshold, his gaze flicking from one face to another before resting on Sasaki. "Oh, hey~." he said moving to the side. Sasaki stepped past with some hesitance. Three against one were not good odds. "Oi," the newest ghoul said, tapping Sasaki's arm, "do you… remeber me?"

"Er, no. Should I?"

There was a brief flash of hurt over his visible features before he laughed sadly "Damn you, man~. I was hoping for a happy reunion." He looked down quickly before returning his gaze steadily on Sasaki. "I might not get the chance to say this to you later, but… I forgive you, for everything." and with a pained smile walked away allowing the door to swing shut behind him.

 _I-I know him. But… where? Where?_ "Who are you to me, Sigma?" He had guessed the name from the greek letter under his mask's left eye.

 **OMAGORSH this was a long time coming… So much work… I'm backing up the ending date of the murder poll because reasons. I'm retaking the SAT again tomorrow so me post this su~per late at night is painful. But, you know, Fuck it. Sorry if Sasaki seemed passive in this chapter but it was necessary for plot. BTW, I don't give a damn about canon anymore (outside of character development and relationships) I think I might shoehorn in some SasaMado because why the fuck not! I'll still kill her if the people demand it tho… *begins to laugh evilly***

 **I would like to take this time to thank** **BeryllSnake** **. I'll go back and do something to the German titles...probably...maybe...I haven't actually had German in so long that my grammar is kinda shite...whaaa…**

 **Okay I'm gone, Good night world, torment you later.**

 **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**


	12. Chapter 11

**My chapters got all kinds of screwed up, with the story rewrites I've been doing. I know that some of you are confused about the number of Sasaki look alikes, there is a reason for it don't worry. To make things still work I'm going to have this chapter set with flashbacks and Sasaki's mental anguish. Hopefully he'll puzzle some things out.**

Chapter 11: What Makes Us Human, Ein Liebhaber Ist Ein Kämpfer.

Sasaki's fingers traced the wall. He stumbled through the darkness, unable to see. Everything blurred and twisted. His own form was horribly disfigured, kagune dragging over the ground, a fleshy mask covered his face. The smells that creeped through this place were awful yet alluring, blood and raw flesh, images of a flowerfield danced behind his eyes. He was in pain but he didn't feel anything anymore. He couldn't.

"Hey!" it was a familiar voice that called to him, "Kaneki! Wait up!"

The him that was not him froze in place, fear, regret, sorrow, all piled up in his heart and threatened to choke him. "H-Hide?"

"Who else would it be dummy?" A boy of nineteen with soft golden brown hair that darkened at the root pranced up next to him. The darkness was banished with the youth's smile. Everything was warm suddenly. Vibrant plant life and blinding sunlight streamed into the world. So why was Sasaki crying?

"I'm so sorry," was all he could manage.

The shining boy gave him and sad smile, pulling the half ghoul close. "Hey," he whispered, "I might not get the chance to say this to you later, but… I forgive you, for everything, alright? So don't cry anymore, Kaneki."

Sasaki couldn't understand it. The world didn't make any sense. Who was this that held him? How could he forgive so easily? "But, I killed you… why?"

"Ah~? So that's what you're crying about!" He really did sound like an idiot, but his eyes were so sharp they could peirce glass. "Ba~ka." He playfully chopped Sasaki on the head.

The warped flesh that clung to him shattered and fell away. Sasaki was himself again. No that wasn't right, he was still Kaneki Ken, but before the madness, before the pain. He looked down at his hands in wonderment. _He is so much like me. Kaneki Ken. How is it that I never noticed before?_

"Your cooperation isn't necessary for your participation." Eyepatch was standing behind them. The world at the ghouls back was tinted red. "It is in your nature."

"My nature?"

The ghoul turned his back and walked into oblivion.

Hide tugged on Sasaki's arm, "Hey, do you… remember me?" He seemed crestfallen when the half ghoul shook his head. "I see." A fire blazed in his brown eyes. "Oi, Kaneki, look after me okay, I'm not exactly myself anymore."

"What do you mean?" But Hide was already gone and Sasaki was alone. He looked around the little space he had. The grass beneath his feet smelled rich and the sky was an impossibly vivid blue. Just beyond the circle of peace, of himself, was nothing but a cold, empty blackness.

" _Keep moving,_ " a voice in his head whispered, " _you can't stop yet. There is more to see."_

"Who's there!" his voice carried into the emptiness, its' echo the only respondent. Begrudgingly Sasaki continued his march back into nothingness.

An apartment sprung into being. It smelled of camomiles. A little boy with black hair and stormy grey eyes ran right through him, "Mama, I'm home!" The little boy was Kaneki.

A panic ran through his as Sasaki tried to reach out for the child. This was the day when his mother philosophy would show its' true effects. No one, no matter how kind, could ever give enough for everyone else to be happy. "Don't go in there!" he shouted desperately, but it was too late. The little boy's school books dropped to the floor.

"Mama?" The boy's voice was weak. He rushed to her side. Kaneki's mother, _Sasaki's_ mother, was slumped over her work, unmoving, and deathly pale.

The investigator squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. "Don't make me watch this, please! I don't want to know!"

" _You and I both know that's a lie. You've been searching for this in secret haven't you? Looking at old case files. Trying to figure out how to spell your old name. You want to know but you're afraid of change."_

"What are you?" Looking around he saw a mirror in the hall; the world shifted around that mirror.

Kaneki was older now. The appartment was different, whether age or location, Sasaki didn't know. The boy was closer to being a man, about as old as Hide had been. He was staring in horror at his own reflection. "No… No… no no no!" One of his eyes was a kakugan. This was when it happened. He had become a ghoul. A bent knife was discarded on the floor, the refrigerator was emptied and all the food, partially eaten and cast aside. Coffee was the only thing a ghoul could have that wasn't flesh. This was the night that truth was discovered as well.

Sasaki was surprised when the young man slammed his fist into the glass, shattering his reflection before curling into a ball on the ground, sobbing. The investigator looked down on his past life with sad eyes. "How much suffering did you go through, Kaneki Ken?" He closed his eyes and the world faded away again.

 ***POV**

Urie groaned. Every inch of his body ached with abuse. The cuts had started shallow but grew progressively deeper with each pass of the she-ghoul's rinkaku. He had quickly learned the best way to avoid more pain was to stay loose. Her needle-like scales passed through his muscles like a knife through butter. His throat was sore from screaming.

"Hmm? Done already?" she purred in his ear. "What a pity."

His world spun away as she left, the bloodloss already affecting him. Urie's mind staggered on, trying to claim an anchor to keep him sane. _993, 986, 979, 972, 966, 959, 952, 946, 933… No, that's not right… Where did I make a mistake? 1000-7 is 993, 986, 979, 972, 965, 958, 951…_ He growled in disgust. _What am I doing? I should be figuring out a way to escape, not meekly accepting this!_ His eyes scanned the darkness, the room's red tinted walls seemed to close in around him. Unlike most constructions Urie had seen this room was octagonal and seemed just for the purpose of holding someone for interrogation, torture, or both. As far as could be seen there was no door or archway to speak of…

Urie didn't know when he had fallen asleep but he was violently roused with a slap across of his face. Omega stood over him with a devious smile. "Are we feeling better, Urie?" She giggled when he fixed his glare on her, "I'm sorry, Are we feeling better, _officer?_ " The black hair ghoul leaned forward, exposing her chest as she laughed.

"... "

She straightened up and sighed, "I thought we were closer than that now." A cruel smile touched her lips, "Your body didn't seem to disagree." Her fingers teased up his inner left leg.

His jaw tightened as he recalled their previous "session" drawing his mind into the length of his stay. How long had he been here? With accelerated healing he couldn't use his wounds to tell time anymore. The cell he was in, Omega's playroom, had no windows and the above light was constant, so light was out for telling time. It had to have been a while, the cuts were slowly becoming more standard for him, the pain less… dreadful. He had started enjoying it and that disturbed Urie to no end. The doubts were interrupted by a new type of pain. It made what he experienced before seem gentle.

Omega's rinkaku had the unique ability to split and branch. Before she would slice through him cleanly but now, the eight limbs stabbed down into his torso and ripped through his abdomen, avoiding vital organs, and twisting, oh gods the twisting! It was like a million needle-sharp drills eviscerating him. He was screaming, blood dripping out of his mouth. How was it possible to feel this much pain!

"You sing so beautifully!" Omega shouted over him, "I want to hear more!" It wasn't just his core anymore, the rinkaku dug through his waist into his upper thighs and surged up around his shoulders. He could see the dark red appendages through his skin, criss crossing and connecting and splitting again. For just a second Urie thought he was going to pass out. Omega had stopped moving her rinkaku. With every heaving breath he could feel it constricting his lungs. It still hurt but he could finally stop screaming, instead gulping in fresh air, trying to cool his enflamed flesh.

Omega hummed slightly and bounced a bit with glee. "Are you ready then? Caught your breath?" She swiped a finger over a thin track of blood dripping down his side. There was no way to hide his horror. Urie's heart fluttered in fear and anticipation. "Go!" she said suddenly. All of the needle points angled suddenly and ripped through his skin. His voice cracked and strained under the sudden renewed agony. Long dark red spikes, slicked in his own blood impaled him from the inside out, repeatedly. Tears boiled from his eyes. After ten heartbeats, Omega snapped the rinkaku off and it began to dissolve into his flesh, his body absorbing the rc cells and using them to repair the damage.

"Ready for round two, _Urie?_ "

 ***POV**

Sasaki stumbled into open air. The city of Tokyo surrounded him, her familiar scent, saltwater covered by the bustle of traffic and the press of people. How long had he been down there? A couple hours? Certainly no more than a day. There was still a pain behind his eyes and had he not become accustomed to pain it would have been crippling.

He paused to consider this. When had he ever become "accustomed" to pain? What were the circumstances? Sasaki shook his head and slipped the burn phone into his suit pocket. The edges of the red tile dug into his palm when he clenched a fist. The investigator had honestly forgotten he had the domino and began to examine it. The one Kotoro Aya had received was also red. There were, however, three documented colors, red, black, and white. Did the color have something to do with the person receiving it? Maybe it was different for each person, but why only three distinct colors? Kotoro-san was human but the organization knew about his past life as a ghoul so that couldn't be the connection. Perhaps residency? Lover's would be victim was a student at the Rising Sun Academy, not five blocks from the CCG HQ. But the school was still technically part of a different ward, so unless they divided Tokyo in a different manner that wasn't the reason either.

It bothered him deeply that he didn't remember the domino tile, nor the walk to...wherever he was. Judging by the ache in his skull he had another episode. He clutched his head as another spasm rocked through him. Sasaki dropped to his knees with a strangled snarl, but unlike every other time, he was still himself, functioning normally through the pain. The demon in his mind was quiet. The bout soon subsided and he gulped fresh air. His face was reflected in a pool of rainwater he hadn't noticed before. He was staring at his kakugan eye. The senior investigator swore he heard a click when everything just fell into place. "The truth that only a ghoul can see," he muttered under his breath, holding the tile up to his face. The familiar features of a kakugan stared back at him.

Inside the black pupil of the domino tile Sasaki could just make out something shiny reflecting the slight glow from his ires. An insane and brilliant plan popped into his head. He would have to figure out how to open the tile but there was something physically _inside_ the game piece. "Domino-sama prefers full disclosure, hu? Why do I feel like that's not the whole truth, Eyepatch." Still it was at least a little clever to hide something like this in plane sight. But that cycled him back to previous concerns. Why would Domino send someone to give him a hint. "Who else is solving your puzzle, Domino? Who do you want me to beat?"

A cold washed through his shoulders. _Where's Urie?_

 _Knight to C3_


	13. Chapter 12

**Guess who is back! To all of the one person who voted, Thank you, really, Thank you for showing me you care *Crushes to death with hug* Moving on, you know how people keep expecting major shit to hit the fan, yeah. That's coming in this release, four chapters at once, whoo! Also, happy birthday to me (27th) Yay! I want to update both TG:D and KtG today, FR tomorrow, and AW the day after that. Maybe write a halloween one shot or something. Who knows.**

 **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 12: A Return to Normalcy? Vermächtnis von Großvater Ghul

Ayato froze, a familiar scent hitting his nose. A chill ran up his spine as cold words returned to his mind " _What do you think it means to half-kill someone,_ Ayato _-kun?... I decided to break half the bones in your body_."

"Kirishima-san?" one of his subordinates turned to look at him.

Ayato realized he had stopped walking and silently cursed himself. Just his luck that he had to tend the weeklings today _and_ run into this guy. He hadn't caught a whiff for so long that he really believed that white haired bastard was dead. "Any of you shitty brats ever hear of the Eyepatch ghoul?" The recruits sucked in a collective gasp. Some shifted nervously, others glanced around. The strongest of the bunch finally grew the balls to say something.

"Y-you mean the cannibal that killed Yamori Jason?"

"Yeah," he gave an annoyed sigh and really hoped they didn't see him shaking. While Ayato was confident in his ability now, just remembering that guy chilled his soul. He was barely alive after what Kaneki did to him. "and from the stink of it, you might meet him soon." He forced himself to keep walking, to act calm. Not for the rookies but for himself. Part of him wished that he was just mistaken, another part wanted it to be true just so he could kill Kaneki himself, but by in large, he wanted the scent to be stale. He really didn't want to meet with a guy that could fight the CCG's shinigami, Arima, to a standstill and live to tell of it. Ayato swallowed and hurried on as casually as possible.

 ***POV**

Eto sighed, swinging her legs back and forth. There was something so boring about the world without others around. Tormenting them was just too much fun. A smile crept onto her face when she thought about Kanou's final creation, her own little boy. His face was very much like Kaneki's but there was something definitely sinister about the child that wasn't present in his father. This little bundle of death was the product of genetic tampering, fusing two half ghouls. There were precious few research notes not destroyed but that strange scorpion, but amongst the pages of data, the secret she had been searching for was to be found.

Kanou had requested permission to take a sample of her kagune to "better replicate the power of Yoshimura in an artificial half ghoul," what she was not informed of was the doctor wanting to put her under. When the procedure was planned, Kanou took more than just a few cells from her koukaku. He had surgically removed eggs from her body, and, after splicing the genetics from Kaneki, obtained during his "ghoulification" surgery a long time ago, with Rize's kagune, the doctor was able to create four variations of male zygotes. Only one of these genetic rebalances succeeded in fertilizing an egg taken from Eto. That single, matched cell grew into the little boy called Yukio.

The doctor was very thorough when recording data on her son. Once a month, for six months, Kanou took a picture of Yukio's prenatal growth and recorded any significant changes to the experiment. Unlike any other pregnancy, Yukio was fully developed and functioning at six months. It took just ten months for him to grow to the age seen in the video. The boy did only three things, eat, sleep, and read. There were several recordings of him reading stories to the other experiments. Eto couldn't help but fawn over his little monotone voice.

The files had confirmed what she believed, that Yukio was her son, made from her and the only other male half ghoul she knew of. While his rate of growth concerned her there was something in the back of her mind that said Yukio was alright. She smiled again. "Little boys need their mothers' guidance if they want to grow up big and strong. My little angel of death is out there, and I'm going to find him." She looked up to the moon and smiled into the starry Tokyo night.

 ***POV**

"What do you mean you haven't seen him!" Mado fought down the worry rising in her gut. Sasaki had come in to get Urie then left, but after that they had both vanished. Shirazu was badly injured, Seiko had been attacked by a ghoul and was rescued by a "man with a metal arm", and Mitsuki had spent the whole time talking to a group of students with a ghoul right in front of him. This day couldn't be worse.

"I'm sorry Mado-san," the attendant said, "Sasaki-san said he was taking Urie-san to the hospital; if he isn't there then I don't know what could have happened."

The blonde raked fingers through her hair in a desperate bid to calm herself. She was worrying like a mother over a lost child and she had to keep reminding herself that Sasaki is a grown man. Her concern only grew when she noticed the guilty look on Shirazu's face. His eyes were dark. She scowled, turning to face her team. "We need answers and there is only one person I can think of to give them. Common, we're going to Cochlea." She was bombarded with questions all the way there, answering only with silence.

Cochlea was massive; the glass dome roof let sunlight pour into the layered cylinder prison. The ghouls detained here were used for CCG's R&D teams or as sources of information on their underground society. One prisoner in particular lasted well over a decade because his information was so reliable. He is, in fact, the very ghoul Mado came to visit. Megumi Koto, the Kingpin, leader of the largest, oldest, most profitable ghoul yakuza of the modern era.

Operations started with Koto's father, Satoshi, who was already in his mid forties, three years before the Great War. At first it was just the smuggling of illegal or rationed goods like tobacco, alcohol, even rice. They branched out into munitions later and relocated their base from Nagasaki to Tokyo. Towards the end of the war, Satoshi made the leap from trafficking goods to trafficking people. At first just relocating them to the countryside for steep sums. As soon as the war was over though, it turned to the barter and trade of those who thought they were escaping Japan. Koto took over a decade later when he turned eighteen and his yakuza prospered.

Perhaps one of the reasons Kingpin's group was so successful were the close family bonds shared by its members. Or maybe Koto really was a genius leader. Despite having no formal education, he was able to devise hundreds of successful kidnapping methods. All credit was given to Koto. The organized ghouls dominated all illegal trade until Kingpin's detainment, after which they promptly disappeared.

Before his arrest however, the Kingsmen, as they called themselves, were expert traders of human lives. Their leader received a reputation through the numerous years of the CCG's operation. Anyone unlucky enough to be assigned to the Kingpin case, if they chose to investigate, would receive a painstakingly detailed, black and white photo of a coworker or loved one stripped, bound, and gagged, with a knife to their neck. This was often the only evidence of their disappearance. They were never seen again. More than likely they were sold with Kingpin's other products, alive or butchered. There was one curiosity about Kingpin, however, he _never_ harmed a child. If the investigator assigned to him had young children it was always the spouse, friend, or partner to vanish.

In the end it had been Akira's father that apprehended Koto, but she still remember the terrifying first meeting with a ghoul. She was only eleven…

 _It was late and Akira was walking home from club activities, Mother and Father were both still at work. The friend that promised her a ride ditched her, not that they were really friends to begin with. The other girl probably hate her in all honesty, just waiting long enough to find something worth blackmailing Akira over. The street light went out suddenly and she jumped. One by one, for half a block, the lights went out, until she was very much alone, in the dark._

" _Ha~, man, I really couldn't be bothered. But it's just my luck that boss would choose us."_

" _Stop complaining already! Kingpin'll skewer ya for sure." Two men in black and silver pinstriped suits with angled fedoras stepped into Akira's view. Her heart leapt into her throat. She had heard her parents arguing about taking the Kingpin case earlier. Her mother wanted to, her father was worried about their well being if he took it. These men, if they were working for Kingpin, were ghouls. She clutched the straps of her bag tighter as they approached._

" _Hey, little girl. My friend and I were wondering if you could point us in the direction of the Mado residence. We have some business with Mrs. Mado."_

" _My Mommy is still at work," despite her shaking legs Akira's voice was even, "and Daddy will be coming home with her. They're going to kill you when they get back."_

 _The adult ghouls exchanged a telling glance. They knew she was a Mado now. The one dressed in silver smirked. If that's the case would you mind coming with us? Your parents talk about their work at home right? So you know," He closed the distance between them quickly and seized Akira's hair, "I'm not actually asking."_

 _She looked up at the ghoul through tears, his glowing red eyes wide and fixed on something behind her. A single pair of footsteps echoed through the quiet street. The massive shadow of a man blotted out the moonlight. "Karu, what is my one rule about our product?" a deep, gravely voice sounded just behind her._

 _The ghoul in the dark suit answered nervously, "That in order to assure quality, the products are to be treated with care and be no younger than eighteen years old, sir."_

" _Mhm," the bag on her back lifted into the air carrying Akira with it. The ghoul in the silver suit had let go while his cohort was speaking. "Does_ this _look eighteen to you?" He bellowed shoving Akira into the silver ghoul's face._

" _N-no sir."_

 _She was tossed to the ground. "Then, care to explain yourself?"_

" _I-I was just thinking that because we were up against an associate special class, we might need some leverage."_

 _Akira looked up into Kingpin's face while he was looking down at her. He seemed… old. The trimmed, onix beard and mustache were streaked with grey and his face was creased from age and bore old scares. He reminded her a little of the Maffia boss from an old movie. He had a suit that looked like it came from 1920s America with a matching cream fedora and overcoat. There was a lit cigar in his mouth. Kingpin plucked the smoke from between his teeth, "Go home kid," a lopsided grin spread over his face, "and when your Pops gets home, tell him I said, 'Hi'." A black and white photo drifted to the ground, the person was to blurry to recognize but she could see his CCG badge in the foreground. The massive boss ghoul seized the silver suit's collar and dragged the ghoul, kicking and screaming, into the alley way the'd come from. "Common, Karu."_

" _Sir."_

 _The screaming was stopped suddenly with a loud crunch. Blood spattered over the pavement, a drop landing on her cheek._

The boom of the prison door snapped Mado out of her memories. She was in the interview chair. Shirazu was standing behind her. Mitsuki and Seiko were by the door. She recognized the silhouette, even without all the old style clothes. Kingpin walked calmly over to his chair and sat. A whole decade older, and then some, without much in the way of exercise left the once impressively muscled, 6'7" ghoul, wiry thin, and boney looking. His half european features still striking. His beard had seen better days and his hair was now thin and entirely gray. "Hello again, Kingpin." Mado greeted formally.

"Ha! I haven't heard anyone call me that in years!" He paused for a minute, studying her face. A lopsided smile adorned his expression, it looked like he should have a cigar in his mouth. "I remember you, you're that Mado brat's lil' girl! How's that old fox anyway? He hasn't come to bug me about Owl in quite a long time."

"He's dead."

Koto looked shocked. She had expected him to laugh for joy, after all, the man that imprisoned him was dead, but he seemed sad. "I see." For a long time no one spoke. "So, why have you gotten my up at this ungodly hour?"

"It's seven pm."

"And I'm old," He bit back sourly. "Now, what is it?"

Her brow creased as Akira tried to remain patient. "Two of my men have disappeared while working on a case. I want to know how you think it was done."

Koto's eyebrow arched and he leaned against the chair back. His posture reminded Akira of a business executive hearing something interesting. "Hmm."

Taking that as a cue, Akira pulled up the squad's group photo, pointing out both Sasaki and Urie, and explained the details of their disappearance. She could sense her squad mates shifting uneasily. The look in his eyes seemed like an old rancher studying auctioned cattle for any defects. It made her sick. "Urie was unconscious and in no condition to fight. Sasaki was carrying him," she finished.

Kingpin remained silent for ten seconds, absorbing all the information. "Hmm… probably 23, male, 170cm, about 58kg... Also male, close to 19, 173.5cm, and on the slender side so I'd say only about 60kg."

Mado and the others stared in shock. While she collected her composure faster than her team it still caught her off guard, although it really shouldn't have. "Years of experience I take it." She sounded as cold as possible.

"Something like that. Did you kids know that when I was his age," he gestured at Shirazu, "... no a little younger than that, I wanted to be a tailor. Who knew that kind of experience could be used elsewhere." He gave a half hearted chuckle before his lopsided smile washed over his features again. Had his kakugan not activated, it might have seemed kindly. "Your man, the white haired one, he's a ghoul isn't he?"

Shirazu blurted out, "How did you-" before Akira's glare could silence him.

The old ghoul leaned forward and propped his elbows on the counter, pointing at Sasaki. "This brat is too small, especially with a build like his, to do much heavy lifting. If he wasn't a ghoul he couldn't be able to move as quickly as your timeline suggests and carry this one," he pointed at Urie. He paused his explanation before making another flooring remark. "He's a rinkaku type, ain't he?"

"You can tell a ghouls type just by looking at them?" Mado asked this time, genuinely curious.

The S-rated ghoul sighed at the prospect of explaining his method. "The trick is not to look at their build but their posture. It's too subtle to be noticed by normal investigators and not very reliable if the ghoul comes from a wealthy or 'proper' family, as they tend to receive etiquette lessons including proper posture." He had the habit of waving his hand right when stating facts and left when giving drawbacks. "I could tell he was a rinkaku because of how he is sitting. I don't need to tell you all about kagune placement," he muttered something about savages under his breath, "but the organ isn't small. Compressing it can be anywhere from uncomfortable to very painful, like getting punched in your family jewels. Sasaki here, has his shoulders rolled back slightly, eliminating ukaku or koukaku types as they would have their shoulders in line at all times. I took the cue from how straight his back is that he was more likely a rinkaku type than a bikaku type. Bikaku's also tend towards more predominant leg muscles and he seems to be pretty well balanced."

"C-can you teach me how to do that?" Shirazu seemed to forget he was talking to a ghoul and not a professor of anatomy.

"If you want to spend cell time with a ghoul that hasn't had anyone decent to eat in over fifteen year, be my guest," Kingpin responded flatly. Shirazu flushed and swallowed overcome by embarrassment and fear at once.

"So," Mado steered the conversation back on course, "how was it done?"

"One of your men was targeted. Assuming Sasaki smells anything like a ghoul, it would probably seem to the passerby just another ghoul bringing home dinner. I've know plenty of weekinglings to scurry around under the CCG's radar in the 1st ward by being non-confrontational, they wouldn't beef with your boys. You're looking for a person or persons who want to send a message." He leaned back again looking dower. "At least, that's my opinion."

"What about this?" Mado pressed a red domino tile against the glass. Kingpin leaned in to examine it more closely. When he eased back into his chair, Koto shook his head.

"I can't tell you anything about that." His hands didn't move.

"Thank you, I'll make sure your cooperation is noted." He huffed in response, wheezing a bit standing up from his seat. He real was very old. Last week was his ninety third birthday according to the CCG's files. The door back to holding grated open.

Kingpin looked Akira dead in the eyes. The old ghoul's own hazel eyes gleaming with moisture. He bowed at the waist. "My condolences for your father. It is probably the opposite of comfort and has come very late, but… If I were human, I believe Kureo and I could have been good friends." He looked at her eyes again, a face of stone but his eyes shown with mourning. "He was a good man," with that he turned to leave pausing briefly at the far doorway, "but a crazy bastard." The ghoul had a genuine smile and cursed Akria's father jokingly, as one would a close friend. She didn't know wether to be disgusted to amazed. Kingpin froze one more time his face returned to a serious expression. "I don't have any kind of last will and testament in here. I'm going to kick the bucket any day now, but I think I wouldn't mind them turning me into a weapon if Mado's kid were to use it." The door banged shut and locked behind him

This day had definitely not gone according to plan.

 _Pawn to D4_

/

 **And Kingpin was never seen nor heard from again...jk, he dies and Mado get a bitchin' new sword because she needs some nice things. (Anyone who bothers to read comments will know what I'm talking about)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Guys, I'm telling you, this is the kind of depressing shit I come up with when I try to give Arima a love life. Emi is actually from a oneshot I wrote and promptly deleted because "Aw, hell nah," couldn't even begin to cover how bad it was. *shudders* I hope I gave you some feels, even if you don't actually know much about/ remember Emi-chan at all.**

 **(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)**

Chapter 13: The 13th Ward, Der Alptraum Des Jason

Arima could feel a presence behind him. Not saying much considering the late night rush of the city. but it was distinct enough. His grip on his quinque tightened, ready any moment for an attack.

"Boo!" the familiar light voice of Emi ripped through his caution like an arrow. She had seized his arm in a playful grip. Not quite the attack he had been expecting. He shifted his case to his left hand so it wouldn't hit her while they walked. She chattered happily and Arima, grinning like an idiot, found himself hanging on every word, every little gesture, every flick of her hair. Her voice was velvety and reminded him of cool springtime mornings and hot cocoa. He still doubted if she was really human, it just seem so impossible for her not to be, but there was that nagging feeling in his mind, the doubts. This was the first time he didn't know what he should do. It was very disquieting.

"Arima-san?" He realized he had been staring at her. She looked worried. blinking a few times he apologized and made an offhand comment about how captivating she was. Emi did this really cute thing where she crinkled her nose whenever she got embarrassed. Arima couldn't help but chuckle at it.

They had been walking for a while when Arima spoke. "Mh, let's go here," he pointed to a coffee shop and Emi giggled a little, teasing him about how much caffeine he drank.

"Are you sure you're not a ghoul, Arima-san?"

"Are you?" The smile dropped from her face instantly, Arima's heart plummeting with it.

"W-what?" She had let go of his arm and took a half step away. They had stopped moving. The crowd, sensing that something was wrong began to part around them.

"Are you a ghoul, Wakahisa Emi-san?"

Her look was one of abject horror, tears bubbling up in the corner of her eyes. Arima wanted to beg her to deny it, to plead for forgiveness, but his face remained stone cold. Emi turned and bolted faster than humanly possible, leaping over people who didn't move out of her way fast enough. The chase was on, Arima on her heels as Emi ran, tears glittering behind her. The CCG's Shinigami had unsheathed his quinque and fired at bolt at the fleeing ghoul. She let out an anguished cry and crumpled to the ground. The distance she gained closed in a few seconds.

Arima was standing over her. She had tried to flee into a by-way, several small alleys opened up into it and Arima could have easily lost her in the labyrinth of cement. He was breathing heavily from the run, she was very fast, likely an ukaku type. Her leg was useless now, she couldn't run away anymore. He pulled out his phone, switched on his gps and sent the blank message, meaning a target was identified and cornered. Soon the CCG would be here with a body recovery team and a clean up crew. His eyes returned to Emi's crying face.

"I'm sorry." Arima didn't know why he said that. She smiled sadly and he hated to see that.

"I'm just sad, I did my best to live like human. Ne, Arima-san, was it my fault? Did I do something in a past life to deserve this? Being born with this cursed body…" She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, "I'd rather die than hurt someone."

"Emi-san, I have to ask you a few questions, please answer honestly." She noded, sitting up as best she could with an injured leg. "Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"Were you the ghoul that has been cannibalizing others in this area."

"Yes."

"Why did you run? Just to preserve your life?"

"No, I just… didn't want to fight with someone I've fallen in love with."

Arima's eyes widened. "Y-you-"

"Yes." She looked up at him again, her face the portrait of heartbreak, "I love you, Arima-san." Her eyes turned to kakugan and her kagune was released. It looked like a giant pair of butterfly wings. They were beautiful. She was a hybrid koukaku and ukaku type, not something he had seen before. His grip tightened in expectation of an attack that never came. He could hear the vans pulling up now. "Arima-san, you're staring again." Her voice was so sad. He almost couldn't bear what was coming next. "Please, find a better use for my wings," He lifted the blade over his shoulder ready to strike, "Arima." **Shink. Thunk .** Her kagune shattered just as the other officers arrived. The body collapsed soon after, slumping over to the side, neck spewing blood as the hearts spasms seized up. Her head landed at Arima's feet, eyes closed, tear streaked, and smiling.

"Good working, Arima-san." One of the workers patted him on the shoulder before stooping to collected the head. "It's going to rain soon, I wouldn't stay out to long If I were you."

"Yeah," he murmured.

/

Arima didn't move or take his eyes from the spot Emi died for a long time. Her last words running on repeat through his head. Rain water pooled at his feet and soaked through his clothes. He didn't care. It's not like he hadn't killed ghouls before, in fact he had killed hundreds of them, but the way she accepted it… Maybe it's because he finally started seeing them as people after Sasaki came into his life. Mad, drenched in blood of his own friend, willing to tear anyone apart. No, that wasn't what gave Arima pause. Kaneki Ken was a human who went through a hell he didn't deserve and came out a monster. He had delivered what should have been killing blows on the half ghoul, but Kaneki just wouldn't die. Whether the poor soul realized he spoke or not, what he said rung true with Arima's own convictions. Kaneki bore his suffering because he had something he selfishly wanted to protect, even though the laws of this world were suddenly turned against him.

" _I don't want to hurt anyone."_

" _I'm sorry, everyone. I failed to protect anything."_

Lighting flashed in the heavens bringing light into the darkened alley ways. The flash reflected off of something that lay where Emi had been. He knelt down to examine it. A locket rested in a small puddle of reddish water, the gold chain still had some blood on it. The word 'dreams' was etched onto the surface. Clicking it open showed a candid picture of Arima on one side and on the other one of Emi. They were both smiling and facing away from each other. When half closed the backgrounds matched giving the impression that they were standing together. Arima bit into his lower lip. He had been investigating her for months but it never felt like case work. It was fun. If he was honest with himself, he would say he fell in love too. "Emi…"

Arima stood again, and without looking back, left.

 ***POV**

Sasaki took another breath of air, grateful for the release in tension. His back twinged slightly when he stretched, he must have squished his kagune a little. He rub his lower back in a circular pattern while trying to puzzle out exactly where he was. It looked like an abandoned parking garage. He really didn't like that. Footsteps echoed through the open space.

"Up here boss!" Sasaki turned toward the sound, glancing around once more to be sure he was without his quinque. He was. Great. Hopefuly he could avoid a fight. He shifted his suit jacket, suddenly aware it wasn't fitting right. The Eyepatch mask was tucked against his chest, held in place by the tailored fabric. A small note attached read " _Put it on, you'll need it. -Serpent_ ". While he had his doubt about trusting ghoul, the fact that Serpent seemed to know him, and owe him, had it a bit easier to trust him. The mask was a little difficult to figure out at first but once Sasaki closed his eyes and allowed muscle memory to do the work it was easy. The black leather sheath fit him tightly but not uncomfortably. The mask was definitely made for him, by an artisan no less. He didn't know what possessed him, but he turned away from the source of the voice, aiming his focus on the city streets just two stories below.

A cluster of, what he assumed to be ghouls from the glimpses of masks that he caught, came into the floor and stopped, all facing Sasaki. "Ayato-san, is that-"

The one they called Ayato, the name sounded familiar, finished his subordinates sentence. "Eyepatch."

"I don't really go by that anymore."

"Oh?" he caught the edge to the ghoul leader's voice, he wanted a fight, "Then what is it, you white haired bastard?"

He wasn't quite sure why he was so irritated by that question. More so than the insult at least. The words flowed naturally from the ache in his head, "You still haven't learned a thing, have you, Ayato-kun." He turned to face the younger man - how did he know Ayato was younger than himself?- and his kakugan activated.

Ayato's own kakugan was already active and he charged. "This time I'll kill you!"

He spared a glance at the other ghouls, he had just enough time to block Ayato's punch, grabbing his wrist and twisting it up before sweeping the ukaku's legs out from under him. Again how did Sasaki know this? Right now those questions bothered him more than this fight did. "You're still with Aogiri, hu? I would think tha-"

"Don't ask stupid questions!" the younger shouted, kagune whipping out. Sasaki jumped back as Ayato discharged a volley of shards. Sasaki dodge almost all of them with ease, his kagune moving him quickly out of the way or blocking. It was so natural to use that it felt strange. Then the name came to him, _Centipede_. The name of the monster that lived in him. Sasaki suddenly felt a loss and then an overwhelming furry. Faster than he had ever moved before, he closed the distance between Ayato and himself. He seized the younger by his shoulders and slammed his knee into his stomach then head. Ayato's kagune shattered, blood spurted from his nose. Sasaki forced him upright and held a finger over the masks leer.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't interrupt me." Sasaki could see fear flashing just beneath Ayato's eyes. The situation was familiar to more than just him. "You still remember what happened last time, right? I won't be as gentle because your big sister isn't here to watch."

"Fuck you!" he still spoke boldly but Sasaki could feel the ghoul shaking. He remembered what he did to Ayato and he was still young when it happened. Poor kid probably couldn't fight his best because he was struggling with post traumatic stress. Sasaki could feel his anger fizzle out.

"Centipede, after my kakuja form, got it?" he flicked Ayato on the forehead. It had more force than Sasaki intended and worked more like a fist. "Eyepatch is someone else now," he let go of Ayato's arm and the ghoul staggered back a few steps, "I probably should get a new mask." He fingered the black material thoughtfully. It didn't really suit him anymore.

Ayato growled and his team move around to flank Sasaki. _All at once then? Let's hope this is interesting._

 ***POV**

Naki paced back and forth. This super annoying guy showed up out of nowhere. He wore a white suite sure but he definitely didn't belong to Yamori-aneki's group. What was with the stupid looking grin. He really wanted to punch the guy. "What kinda name is Signa anyway?"

"Sigma," the stranger corrected, only making Naki angrier, "My master will be here soon, just wra~pping up a visit to some ol~d friends. I was sent ahead just in ca~se you were busy." His smiles just keep coming.

"Are you never _not_ smiling?"

"When I'm taking a dump," Sigma replied.

Naki looked at him with mixed confusion and disgust. "Are you a dumbass or somethin'?"

"Ye~p," he rocked back onto his heels and leaned foreward. Only the tip of his heel was touching the ground and he stayed balance for a few seconds. He flipped backward and landed in a hand stand. "How often do you exercise Naki-kun?" He started doing vertical push ups.

 _What the fuck is up with this guy?_ "I don't."

"Tha~t's a shame~. The strongest guys in the world work out every day~!" He dropped to his feet and looked up at Naki again, his smile turned wicked and disturbed, "Strength is needed for vengeance, ri~ght?"

Naki's eyes widened at the question. His mind flashing to Yamori-aneki, tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. He was, however, determined not to cry. Before he could respond to the weirdo ghoul, a new scent drifted into the room. The dingley little motel now had three occupants.

"Sorry to call you out here on such short notice." The new guys voice was a emotionless monotone that creeped him out to no end. "As my associate has pointed out," he continued, "we are here to discuss a matter relevant to all of us. I'll keep things simple for your benefit, Naki-san, I want to help you get revenge for Jason Yamori."

"Why?" It's not that Naki wasn't excited by the prospect of strong allies, he had been told time and time again by others in Aogiri and in Yamori's group to be more cautious, it was finally sticking.

"Mutual profit."

"... Hu?"

Naki was fixed with steely grey-blue eyes. "Both of us will have what we want."

"You know what I want, but what do you want?" Naki felt proud he was able to ask the important questions.

"There are two people I want dealt with, both were involved with Yamori."

"So you want me to kill them?"

"Yes." There was a smile in his voice that was far worse than the one Weirdo was wearing.

"Alright. Just tell me who it was that killed Yamori-aneki and I'll take 'em down!" Naki was grinning too now, "You won't even get a chance at it!"

"Thank you for your cooperation, Naki-san, here are the files on those two. I recommend starting with the one named Juuzou."

As soon as the folders were in Naki's hand the strangers had vanished. He didn't care though, now he had a place to direct his hatred. "CCG. I'll beat you to a pulp." He cracked a finger.

 ***POV**

Sigma swallowed as they left the old motel, he was just three paces behind Yukio and fairly sure he was going to get an earful, or worse. Nothing happened however, they kept their pace in silence. He reviewed the plan in his head to fill the conversational void. Sure there were a lot of things that could, and have, already gone wrong. The alienation caused by his outburst at the school being the largest and most recent blunder. The loss of Tsukiyama Shuu as an alli was a close second, but who knows, maybe the fop will figure his best chance at Sasaki was still through Domino and come crawling back. However the more he thought the more things didn't add up. He finally said what was on his mind and hoped that Eyepatch didn't kick him into the next century. "You know after all this time I still can't figure you out. Are you a ruthless man pretending to be kind, or are you a nice guy pretending to be a heartless bastard?"

The young man turned his head to Sigma, without the leering mask he really did look a lot like Sasaki, it was weird. "Depends on your perspective I guess. You're just one of the unfortunate people who knew me before."

"Still, I thought you wanted Sasaki to live, why sick Naki after him?"

"Do you play chess, Sigma?"

"A little...why?"

"I'm making a sacrifice play. Bait and switch. Juuzou is one of the few investigators that will vehemently oppose Domino's plan. Even if Naki is unsuccessful in killing him, it will solidify a common goal, at least temporarily. But after that our new friend becomes a loose end. Sasaki should be more then able to handle Naki."

"Yeah, but," Sigma bent forward, closer to Yukio's ear, "What if he isn't."

The youth sighed, turning his back to Sigma and kept walking. "Then he was never worthy of participating in Domino's plan to begin with."

 ***POV**

Sasaki's mind and body were numb from the fight. Three of the fifteen ghouls lay dead at his feet and eight more were seriously injured. He was finally starting breath heavily. The monster in his head was active, pulling him down into madness only for Sasaki to struggle back under control. The pattern was getting harder to maintain however. He was slipping. He was laughing. "YoU sHoUlD rUn." All the other ghouls backed off real fast. He charged at the largest clump, his kagune slicing through their bodies like spears. He had killed four more of them. only Two had already been hurt.

Ayato swore under his breath and ordered his men to retreat. Sasaki wasn't going to let them. Despite his new inability to think, he was still a CCG investigator. They were ghouls. They were going to die. They bailed through the open side onto the street. Sasaki had just enough presence of mind left to notice the CCG van blocking off their egress. He smiled under his grinning mask.

Before he could launch his assault an impossible amount of pain stabbed through his fingers and toes. Numbers flashed in his mind while a cacophony of scratches and clicks incited him to rip at his left ear. He was vaguely aware that his eyepatch mask had fallen off.

" _Kaneki, let me take from you!_ "

He gritted his teeth to suppress a scream. His vision was distorted and his kagune pulled up around him. It was the distorted flesh of his nightmare, knitting over his sides up to his shoulders. Two massive, insectoid rinkaku limbs ripped through his suit, giving him a total of six. They were shaped like centipedes. He had to lean forward to accommodate the new weight.

The CCG had moved in while Sasaki was changing and Ayato's little group was now stuck between an insane cannibal kakuja and several first class or higher investigators. "Shit!" Ayato snarled, it was clear the navy haired kid was weighing his options, looking for an escape.

One of the CCG seemed to recognize Ayato, she screamed "Rabbit!" before charging at him. Sasaki didn't know why he moved. Ayato had shot a volley of crystals at her, she wouldn't be able to dodge all of them. His larger limbs shot forward forming a shell around the huaman. She gasped. He didn't want to leave her so close to Ayato; he wanted to protect her.

Sasaki's kagune tightened as he lifted her into the air, setting her down by his side. She looked up at him in horror. He fixed his mask's shining eye on her face. She was familiar. She was precious. She was…"Ma… do… -san?"

Her blue eyes widened. She stood tears in the corner of her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Come home already, Sasaki."

The pain rushed out like a wave. He was entirely himself again, although he didn't feel as strong. The monster in his head spoke. " _You still have something you want to protect. I see. Just please, don't erase me._ " He smiled gently and nodded. Fixing his eye now on the Aogiri ghouls, he charged into the fray.

/

Sometime during the confusion Ayato had managed to escape, a team was dispatched to find him. Sasaki was kneeling, still a kakuja, trying to steady his breath. The color of his limbs had drained and they were cracked. There wasn't enough rc to maintain them anymore. He had been fighting nonstop for an hour against a lot of opponents. Exhaustion didn't begin to cut it. Mado was standing a little too close, doting over him like a worried mother. He be lying to say he didn't like it, but he was more worried for her own well being. The exertion of today left him ravenous and her slender legs were way to tempting.

His own squad was here, with the exception of Urie, and they all rushed over, hesitantly. The warped flesh of his mask itched. Somehow the idea came into his head that if he broke the mask his rinkaku would also vanish. He seized the edges of the sleek black covering and pulled. His skin tore and he bit back a scream. The thing finally shattered into dust, the cut on his face healing instantly. Sasaki's rinkaku crumbled into nothingness as well.

Mado began chastising him for ruining his uniform suit. He couldn't help but laugh. She really did sound like his mother. _How did I-_

"Are you listening, 1st Class Sasaki? What happened to Urie?"

His grin had dropped at the thought of his mother. Now his face was grim remembering his student. "The Gourmet," he clenched his fist, restraining the mixed emotions the name prompted, "jumped us when I was taking him to the hospital. I woke up in a domed room. Eyepatch, the one from before, was there. So was Serpent, but latter. I haven't seen Urie since Gourmet attack but I don't think he's dead either. It seems like someone name Domino is pulling all the strings. I don't know why yet but we're important to his plan, it's unlikely he'll kill us."

Shirazu visibly flinched when he heard the leader's name. Mado didn't miss a beat. "Shirazu, you know something."

He turned his eyes the the ground and ran a hand through his blond hair. "I fucked up," he muttered, tears touching his eyes and a guilty look on his face. "Sigma showed up while I was back tracking Urie's movements. He had been acting weird and as squad leader I needed to know why. I-I didn't tell anyone because it looked like Urie was going to be fine…" Everyone had their attention fully on the blonde investigator, even some of the clean up crew had stopped working to listen. "I followed his scent to an alleyway. It would have been harder but he was following a stronger scent. Behind a dumpster in the back was...a body. It was a ghoul." He looked right into Sasaki's eyes, "It had been eaten."

Mitsuki gasped, "No way. There's no way that Urie-san would do that!"

"That's what I wanted to think to but… in our fight with Serpent he… bit into his own arm to extend the time he could use his kagune."

Sasaki squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fist. He knew Urie sense of taste had changed but this?

"That's when I fucked up… Sigma said that Domino wanted to help. I don't know why I believed him but I did. I was taken to Domino. He like nothing I've ever seen…"

"Shirazu," Mado seized his shoulder, "who is he?"

"A little kid."

"Hu?" Seiko piped up this time, "A kid?"

"Yeah," he shook his head with a defeated expression, "he runs this underground club that services both humans and ghouls. There's a whole city block of living space down there. The first two people I met where sibling. Little kids, a big brother and his sister. She was human, he wasn't." Shirazu's face turned hard like stone, "I even saw CCG officers there swapping battle tips with ghouls, laughing over glasses of wine and blood." The young man's brows knitted together, clearly sickened by his own amazement.

"I-is that really true?" Mado whispered, Shirazu didn't hear it, but Sasaki did, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they were tricked, Mado-san. I don't know anyone that would willingly cooperate with Domino." She nodded, seeming to take some comfort from his words.

A slow clapping from the garage behind them broke their attention from doubting their own. A young ghoul in a tailored cream suit with a simple white half-mask was perched on the cement railing, leaning against a pillar. His mask, like many of the other masks Domino's servants had, possessed only one eye hole. Covering the right eye was a light pink heart the size of his ires. "Lover!" Mitsuki said, pulling a knife out of his suit pocket. Mado, Shirazu, and even Seiko dropped into a combat stance.

"Honestly," his rich voice played through the air in a scolding tone, "I don't know what Domino-sama was thinking. I my opinion he's making a mistake letting the CCG participate at all. You're violent and brutish! The only passion you guys have is killing. You guys are just as bad as Aogiri. There will be no place for you in Domino-sama's paradise. The CCG should just die out!" He waved his arms as he spoke, making grand gestures. Sasaki had seen him on the roof with Kotoro Aya and he didn't seem nearly this dramatic. This was a show.

Sasaki and Lover's eyes met. There was something sad in the youth's face, or what could be seen of it, that Sasaki wasn't expecting. "You poor, confused bastard. Fighting and killing those you one held dear… How tragic. Stop living as a human already. Go home to your real family."

"What do you mean?" Mado stepped in front of Sasaki, getting between him and Lover. "This is Sasaki's real home! He's a human and our friend!" She had a furious expression, "You speak of family but have you given any thought to all those people who you killed? They had families didn't they? Families you ripped apart."

Lover sighed. "Humans," he began bitterly, "they don't understand a damn thing! What do you know of suffering? We have to live think you, pretending to be you, just to survive! Even when we do no harm to your kind you still hunt us down like animals! Look at the man you are defening! He's a fucking kakuja, there's nothing human about him!" He turned his gaze from Mado to Sasaki, "You're a traitor to your own kind either way, I feel bad for you."

"That doesn't excuse you from eating people," Mado bit back.

Lover glared at her with a fury that Sasaki hadn't been expecting. "I save people from their personal hell, Mado Akira. Those that no longer wish to live come to prick their fingers on my poisonous thorns and die in the embrace of my flowers, giving their flesh to sustain me, but those who see something to live for, they are allowed rest in my master's garden." He sighed briefly, "Anyway, see you all tomorrow night." He stood, turned, and vanished in the garage. A group of officers pursued him as well. The five of them were left to ponder the conversation.

 _Pawn to A3_

 **Okay I just realized how confusing things are because I don't timestamp stuff. Sasaki was wandering around in that state of confused flashbacks for a solid two days, everything else into the beginning of this chapter was late day one, early day two, with the exception of Ayato scene. Urie has been tortured for three days straight at this point, given a few breaks for Omega sleeping/eating and Urie recovering. Unlike Jason, Omega isn't feeding him anything...for a while actually… so yeah, please do enjoy.**


	15. Chapter 14

**This chapter begins with madness and torture. You have been warned. Oh and also sexual innuendos here and there. In case you haven't caught on yet, shit has officially hit the fan, where have you been? Skipped a chapter? It's been a nonstop freight train these last few chapters. Oh and one more thing that I need to address. Character death. Kill count: 2? *makes a troll face* you're just going to have to read it.**

 **You know what *POV means by now**

 **P.S. This is going to be a long ass chapter, just saying.**

Chapter 14: Warrior of a New Kingdom, Dein Reich Komme

Urie screamed until his voice gave out and kept on screaming. It hurt but he couldn't care less. His goddess was cutting him again. Every ounce of agony brought meaning to his existence. Her rinkaku traced along his joints and carved smoothly through his muscles. The pain was his existence. The pain was his life. The pain was the ultimate pleasure. Omega had pulled her spider like limbs from his twisted flesh and hummed happily. "How do you feel, Urie." He loved it when she said his name. Her perfect voice always filled his mind with flashes of tantalizing torments yet to be experienced.

"M-my ears," he was panting too heavily to speak properly, "something that… really… really… hurts." She smiled her purest smile for him. Just for him. She only played with him. Only inflicted pain on him. Her rinkaku twitched before folding around to his right ear.

"Sing for me," she commanded, driving her needle sharp kagune into his ear. It wove through his head piercing his skull and branched down into the flesh of his neck. Agony exploded in though his body. Urie convulsed in brutal ecstasy. She snapped off her kagune letting the rc cells that made it up absorb into his body while he healed. "I'm going in the other side, okay?" The process was repeated for his left side.

When the limbs snapped off again bloody froth had collected at the corners of his mouth. His goddess leaned in to lick it away. Sometime she would kiss him. That was the only part of her torture he disliked. It was to gentle. He wanted her to bite him, tear into his flesh, rip him into pieces. He wanted agony. He wanted suffering. He wanted her to stay and bring him hellish toys to experience. When she left and he was alone the shadow would come back. The shadow, he didn't say anything, just stared with his glowing eyes and bright smile. Sometimes he would pace around Urie, show him memories of before he had met his goddess. They were "happy" memories but that had become true hell for Urie. All the faking. All the pointless effort. All the wasted time. There was a deep sense of wrongness that Urie didn't like when the shadow came. It came from inside himself, told him his goddess was an evil monster that needed to be killed. He wanted to crush that. Remove that voice from inside him. The pain was what silenced it. The pain freed him and he lusted after it.

"Urie," she whispered in his newly repaired ear, "Do you want to be more." Her fingertips were fire against his stripped skin. "You could be like me. More than human." The wrongness came back. The shadow stood by his feet eagerly watching him. The voice from inside cried out against it.

"Yes." His voice was stronger than it should have been. The shadow stepped forward and became flesh. His flesh, raw and cut and torn. It was him, the whole time, the shadow was him. His goddess had vanished and the image of him spoke with her voice.

"Do you want to become more?" it asked again.

"Yes," he roared to drown out the small voice begging him not to. The Nightmare laughed and lunged at him, ripping through his left shoulder with its teeth, eating him bit by bit. It hurt. He screamed and all was black.

Urie panicked thrashing against his bindings before realizing the darkness was caused by a silk cloth tied over his eyes. He must have passed out from bloodloss after Omega kissed him. His breathing came in gasps but he felt much stronger than ever before. The throbbing in his shoulder had stopped. With a concentrated pull he snapped the cuffs holding him down. His wrist was cut slightly by the force it took but he could feel his flesh closing. Urie reached up and removed the blindfold. Where was his goddess, we wanted to show her how strong he was now. He wanted to embrace her and feel her nails cut through his skin again. The shadow was gone, no, that wasn't right. Urie was gone and he was the shadow. He ate Urie, the week and selfish human. He was more now. More for his goddess to play with. More to please her. He was more. So much more. He was a ghoul.

 ***POV**

Uta was twirling his pencil, staring at the sketchpad in front of him, an eye in his other hand. There was a strange man with a mechanical arm that smelled like kagune sitting on his measuring stool. "So, you were an investigator for the CCG?"

"Yes." His voice was strong.

"How did you wind up like this, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Kaneki Ken."

"Ah, I see. Poor kid never could kill anyone. Least not until Jason… nevermind." There was an awkward pause. "Why do you want a mask?"

"I'm supposed to be dead. Having someone recognize me would be, inconvenient…"

"Hm… What about this kid?" Uta picked up the picture his patron had given him. He was really sour looking and had two moles under his left eye. His hair seemed dark purple. "You want me to make a mask for him, too?"

"Yes. All the personal information that you would ask for is on the back."

Uta flipped the image over and perused the data. He could certainly make something interesting from this. "I'll let you know when I'm done, Amon-kun. Expect a call by the tenth."

 ***POV**

Sasaki was looking more than a little frustrated and the sudden standstill on the investigation. Mitsuki wrung his hand briefly "He is probably concerned about Urie." He whispered to Seiko. The cubby investigator nodded in agreement. The team redoubled their efforts to solve the puzzle. With the discovery that the tiles had some kind of device inside them it was know a matter of opening it. They had tried to force one open, they had quite a lot after all, it exploded and whatever was inside vaporized. The thought of however they got an explosive inside something the size of Mitsuki's pinky disturbed him. For the past hour Seiko and himself had been discussing what they contained and how to open them.

He glanced over at Sasaki again. His mentor was hunched over his desk, so frustrated that he bit into his finger trying to contain it. It dawned on him so suddenly that Mitsuki leapt out of his chair with a loud, "I've got it!" Everyone turned with a start to stare at him, with the exception of Shirazu who wasn't in the office yet. Mitsuki flushed slightly but continued, "It's an rc reader. Like the blood sugar monitors except it reads the rc content in a sample."

Sasaki seemed to get it as he glanced down at his finger. "Mado-san," he said and she tossed him the tile she was studying. He pressed the "eye" to his cut. There was a soft beep followed by a click. Sasaki stood and looked at Mitsuki with a grin. Everyone maneuvered through the desks to a large table by their activity bored. The calendar marked the date in the center of the table, November tenth, but was swept aide. Sasaki tipped the tile and the side under the five white dots slipped out, depositing a thumb drive onto the table. They all stared for a moment at the small piece of hardware, before Seiko scooped it up and plugged it into her laptop. Everyone leaned in around the device. The drive contained a single game file.

"Seiko," Mitsuki begin, "you don't recognize that game, do you?"

The shut in shook her head, "No, but I'm going to uncover every secret I can." Her jovial expression died as soon as she opened the file. The title screen was off black with a red back glow. A simple black mask took up the center focus, the gaping eye hole showed sunken in, discolored flesh surrounding a ghoul kakugan. The only other feature on the metallic surface was a jagade toothy smile. "Oh, it's a horror game." She seemed disheartened.

"Sasaki," Mado said before pulling the senior investigator aside. Mitsuki couldn't make out what they were saying but it wasn't good judging from their expressions. She handed him a folder. "Seiko, see what you can gleen from...that. Mitsuki come with me, we need to make preparations for tomorrow night. Remember to send Shirazu to the conference room, if you see him Hiase."

"Yep." Sasaki called back. As Mado practically dragged Mitsuki off he couldn't help but voicing his curiosity.

"Um, Mado-san, when did you start calling Sasaki-sensei by his first name?"

"Last night."

"Hu?"

 ***POV**

Urie whipped around when he heard a stone wall slide out. _So that's how it works._ A ghoul, about thirteen, walked in. The boy was caring fresh clothes and what looked like armor. "Omega-sama instructed Rin to bring articles befitting your lordship," he said bowing.

"Lordship?"

"You are the goddesses' consort, are you not?"

While that was true, Urie didn't like the feeling it gave him. "Don't call me that." It was like he hadn't earned the position, or even manipulated his way in.

"Then what should Rin use for a name?" He stared at the boy for a while, unable to answer the question. "Is it possible that my lord has yet to receive a name?" Urie noded, "Tis problematic… May I call you thus until your new name is given?"

"I suppose."

"Rin is here to serve your lordship until the naming ceremony is complete then." His little head bobbed again in a bow. "Please allow Rin to assist my lord." He placed the armor to one side and passed the various pieces of clothing to Urie as needed. Once the elder was dressed, Rin busied himself fitting all armor to him. The steel was surprisingly light. He had a chestplate that connected to shoulderplates, the left one had a large slit to allow his kagune to pass through; Unlike the archaic designs of medieval armor, this set was minimalist and formfitting, excluding the upper chest, shoulders, belt, gauntlets, and greaves everything was a plain white cloth. It was a long sleeve, long necked, trench coat-like jacket. The belt was worn on top, weaving through loops in the overcoat and rings on the white slacks beath. There was a dress shirt tucked in under the coat. The silver metal, with its' gold tinted trim was placed over the coat as well. Urie's skin was covered completely with the exception of his head.

The fabric was cool against his skin and the plate added back the weight balance he had before. He would undoubtedly be faster without it but this would train his body and he was fine with that. The little boy tugged lightly at his sleeve. "Please, follow Rin."

He was lead through a network of tunnels into what looked like a blacksmith's forge. Several burly ghouls were hammering away at metal. Everything was covered in ash. They didn't stay there but continued moving ahead. The workmen stopped their projects and followed. Several more rooms were like the last, housing different professions, with the occupants of the rooms following after. Sometimes Urie would catch glimpses of people streaming in behind to pick up the work.

Seemingly out of the walls young women in flowing greek inspired priestess garb, each carrying a lamp, slipped into the possession. They danced in a circle around Urie, singing without speaking. The only beat to dance to was the rise and fall of his own steel encased feet.

Soon they had reached a large chapel decorated in stained glass. He looked up towards the arched ceiling covered in massive murals. He marveled at the ghoulish depictions. A human might call the red tinted windows and bloodied paintings the chapel from hell. He laughed to himself a bit. The mix of ghouls and humans, indeed some were humans, parted to let his scarlet clad goddess through. Rin had disappeared. "You look stunning!" she elated, painfully pulling at his cheeks.

She whisked past him and up to the pulpit area. Everyone one, with the exception of Urie bowed. A tall scared human, wearing a ghoul mask, stood from the crowd, and making his way passed Urie, approached Omega, bowed, and presented a package. He turned, giving the younger man a view of his quinque steel. His eyes seemed to apologize for something.

His attention was pulled back to his goddess as she plucked a mask from the box and discarded the brown paper, lifting the helm up. He felt some unseen force pull him forward. "Kneel." He did as Omegan commanded. She slid the helm on, locking into place with straps from his jacket. There were two parts, the metal casing around his jaw and neck, and the tinted glass shielding attached to a hinge. Then the front plate was locked onto his jaw it formed an airtight seal and redirected his breathing through filters located along the sides of his neck. Breathing wasn't difficult but felt strange.

Omega took a step back from him, beaming. "Now, rise and claim your new name, Paladin*!"

 **/\**

 **November 11th: The ghoul Auction operation, commence!**

 **\/**

Mitsuki was breathing heavily, they had just taken down Nuts. Now they had to find Big Madam and the two major targets would be taken care of. Juuzou was occupied with White Suit Naki while Mado was covering him, keeping the Three Swords ghoul off. Rabbit was running amok. There were casualties on both sides. He shifted the dress uncomfortably, hating being dressed like a girl. It was just his luck that Torso was also here, looking for him.

He looked over at Seiko. The shut in had just destroyed Nuts in an instant. Once again he reminded himself not to make her angry. That's when something unexpected happened, over the CCG's intercom system a report of an unknown ghoul, slaughtering humans and ghouls alike rang out. Ther officer giving the report sounded panicked. He fell deathly quiet. "No… please! No N-ahhhhghha!" Everyone who could afford to be still was, the agonized scream of their fallen man echoing in their ear.

"Good evening," a distorted voice sounded from their comrade's headset, "I'm looking for the Quinx squad and their mentor Sasaki Haise. Killing grunts has gotten stale so I'll be waiting on the main stage."

The three investigators looked at each other in mixed anger and fear. A ghoul killing their comrade, or just anyone really, and then calling out the quinx squad? The fact that it was an unknown ghoul as well was very unsettling.

"I'm going alone." Sasaki's voice cut through Mitsuki's growing concern, "Finish the operation, then come back. Rescuing the civilians takes priority."

"But-" Mitsuki didn't have a chance to finish.

"No Sasan is right. We need to get them out of here first."

"Okay."

 ***POV**

Sasaki didn't have to wait long for Mado to clear him for combat. Naki tried to stop him but he cleared the White Suit with a single jump and kept sprinting. As he approached the main hall something in the back of his mind told him not to go in. Not to cross that threshold. He was going to lose something today.

He slowed to a stop at the door and hesitated. Sasaki could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

"What are you waiting for, officer?" a rich female voice called out of the darkness. He turned to face the source. She wore a long blood red dress with a plunging neckline, long slights ran up to her mid thigh, showing off her legs. Her mask was red like her dress, the black letter "Omega" marked her left eye, while her right alone was visible.

"You work for Domino?"

"Hm? I'm not telling." The points of her high heels tapped the ground as she walked. Sasaki suddenly couldn't move. When he looked down a long, web-like rinkaku had snared around his legs. She was suddenly very close. "Look at you," she forced his head up, "all grown up but still a little kid inside, playing soldier. It's a pity Domino-sama didn't let me break you. I bet your screams would be beautiful."

He gritted his teeth, eye shifting into kakugan. "Let. Go."

The she-ghoul pulled back er hand and shuddered, a smile on her face. "Kanou was right about you, Ka-ne-ki-san. It's too bad he's not around to see it anymore. Oh, but I really must thank you, you did such a good job of raising my cute little friend. I'm sure you're going to love him."

"What are you-" The sense of dread choked his words and she laughed. A cruel, mirthless laugh. Her kagune ripped up out of the ground and threw him into the main hall.

Humans, civilians were being ushered out by ghouls in domino masks. There were also a few humans that were helping the other ghouls. Sasaki stared at the procession in awe and confusion. _Domino was rescuing civilians?_ He didn't have long to ponder this, as a metal gloved hand seized his collar and lifted him into the air. "That's one, now where are the others?" He recognized the voice for the head set. There was something unsettlingly familiar about the ghoul, though there were no distinguishable features to be seen under his armor.

Sasaki struggle to breath as the Armored ghoul's grip tightened. "I asked you a question. Answer."

"I-I don't k-know." The vice grip released and he was slammed onto his back.

"That is so like you, go running ahead like that just to fight on your own."

"How do you know me?"

Before the ghoul could answer a whizzing buzzing projectile launched through the air, nearly hitting Sasaki. The target dodged and the shell exploded on stage. The Armored ghoul pointed at the exit and bellowed to the others in the room, "Get those people out of here already. You'll ruin Omega-sama's plan." Both ghoul escorts and civilians rushed out of the room and the plated ghoul returned his focus on Sasaki. "Looks like you're missing a member."

Sasaki clicked his tongue and stood. Shirazu, Mitsuki, and Seiko filing in. "Sasan, squad one is taking care of the combat front, over half the civilians have already been evacuated. I guess this guy's friends have been busy while we were fighting. Mado-san ordered us over here."

"Okay then, Formation one then." Sasaki informed the squad and they spread out. There were six formulated formations for almost all varieties of combat. The first was a group assault on a strong target. The pattern was long so that the strikes would seem random. It was an idea Urie came up with to reduce vulnerability, Sasaki had to make a few tweeks to the numbers but they were the regular combat drills the Quinx practiced.

Shirazu attacked first. The Armored ghoul took two steps forward and, without even looking kicked Shirazu's side sending him flying out of the circle. Before Mitsuki had his chance to attack the ghoul was already in front of him. "Formation one only works if the target isn't anticipating your movements," he seized Mitsuki by the hair, "You look better as a woman," and flung him into Seiko.

"What the hell?" Shirazu growled.

"I think I hated you the most," the ghoul had lifted a hand to his mask, shaking his head, "Always so gullible and easy to manipulate. You won't make it as a squad leader." He was walking over to Shirazu. "That is, if you can even survive today."

"U-Urie?"

 _Bishop to E2_

 **DUN DUN DUN! Sorry if you didn't catch that, There will (probably be a character death in the next chapter though. I have a really great scene lined up.**

 ***pronounce "pa-ra-djin" for maximum Japanese-ness xD**


	16. Chapter 15

**This is the character death we were all waiting for. You have been warned.**

Chapter 15: Death of a Brother, Krieg

" _I think I hated you the most," the ghoul had lifted a hand to his mask, shaking his head, "Always so gullible and easy to manipulate. You won't make it as a squad leader." He was walking over to Shirazu. "That is, if you can even survive today."_

" _U-Urie?"_

"No," the answer was punctuated by a snap. Urie's kagune slid cleanly out of a slit in his armor and, before Shirazu could so much as flinch, drove down through the fallen investigator's chest. The blonde couldn't make a sound, his lungs had been sliced like butter. Urie had surgical precision even with such a massive blade; he'd aimed the blow to destroy Shirazu's heart and lungs. His once ally wasn't a ghoul, and was thus weak. Because he was weak he wouldn't heal, and if he couldn't then he would die.

"Shirazu!" Urie turned to see Mitsuki charging at him, knife in hand. Such a paltry weapon wouldn't hurt him in a satisfactory way, but he still couldn't be bothered to dodge. His hand flashed out on instinct, and driven by a whim, gripped with just enough pressure to break the arm that threatened him. The shorter man screamed in pain. He lifted his kagune, Shirazu still impaled on the limb, and swung it down dismissively, sending the dead weights away. The one he really wanted to fight was Sasaki, but not kill him. He wasn't allowed to kill him.

Even now, Urie doubted that he could end his mentor, and that urked him. As a rinkaku type, the gray haired half ghoul had the advantage. Killing the people he was teaching should incite enough rage to break him. Urie didn't actually have to kill any of them, Omega-sama's master would likely to be very upset with him for exterminating any of them to begin with. However, the stress test that Domino had planned in Tsukiyama Shuu wasn't going to work anymore. Independent action to force the situation, specifically a betrayal, filled the necessary criteria in Urie's mind.

He gazed lazily at them all, fearful, hurt, sad. "Disgusting." With a violent swipe, Shirazu's blood, which had been clinging to his sword, splattered over the ground.

Sasaki met his gaze, many emotions raging in his gray eye, but his kakugan burned with an incomprehensible hatred. "Why are you doing this, Urie?"

"That's not my name!" Something about hearing Sasaki's still calm and cold voice had angered him. It was an anger directed at no one, because the person whom his hatred sought no longer existed. 'Urie' was dead, there was no changing that.

He charged at Sasaki, blade angled ahead of him. They were trading blows, dodging, slashing, utterly destroying the surrounding room. Out of the corner of his eye Urie could see Seiko hiding and Mitsuki desperate to revive Shirazu with mouth to mouth. That was useless, his lungs weren't flooded, they were shredded. The brief distraction gave Sasaki an opening and the half ghoul stabbed at him with his kagune.

Urie cried out at the familiar feeling of a rinkaku limb through his stomach, lifting him into the air. He laughed, maddened with delight, when Sasaki twisted it, the cold look on the investigators face seriously bringing down his mood. The limb ripped free, dropping Urie to his knees. It was good but unenjoyable, he couldn't savour it. Blood seeped into his white clothes from a large hole in his chest plate. The armor wasn't able to stop a ghoul, but it wasn't really meant to.

The world blurred and angled oddly as Urie stood, likely from the blood loss. His laugh still tumbled from his lips, weaker but just as mad. He was mad, wasn't he? Enjoying the pain. Sasaki took a step back when he staggered forward. He rose to his full height, the flesh of his wound knitting closed. His once mentor's eyes widened, "What happened to you?"

"I woke up."

\\\

Mitsuki had made a call for help and a large group of CCG burst into the room. Sasaki, bleeding and struggling in Urie's grip, gasping for air. The younger' s koukaku was impaled with two of the gray haired man's rinkaku, the other two stabbed through his torso, trying to pry him off. Sasaki gave a vicious yell, slamming his fist down on Urie's mask. The glass shattered, piercing his eyes. It was pure instinct that brought up his hands, releasing Sasaki's throat. The rinkaku type threw him against a wall.

Every one of his limbs felt heavy, "So this is the limit of what I can do, pathetic." His fists clenched as the shards were forced out of his face, "No. I'm just warming up. Pain is such a beautiful thing. Thank you for pushing me to this, Sasaki."

Several special officers poured into the room, rushing over to the injured Quinex squad members. Mado froze next to Mitsuki. "I-is that Urie? What the hell happened!"

He grinned at the human's ignorance, he'd been like that once, but he wasn't blind anymore. He turned his face up, Omega looking down from the stage's catwalk, "Have I done well?"

"Yes," she dropped to the stage next to him, "very well. We can complete the plan this way."

"What plan?" Sasaki had gotten back onto his feet, flinching at his partially healed wounds, "What does Domino want?"

"This isn't about Domino-sama, Detective, I'd hoped you already realized that; this is about my lovely pet here," she looped an arm around Urie's waist. "This is about what he wants." A devious smile flashed over her visible features. "Why don't we ask him? What do you want, _Paladin_?" She whispered the name with sweet seduction in his ear.

Urie's heart hammered painfully in his chest "What do I… want?" Urie's breath came in quick gasps, excitement and bloodlust surged through him at dizzying speeds. He seized a handful of Omega's hair, pulling her head back, and forced his tongue into her mouth. She gave a startled, lustful moan but accepted the kiss none the less. The blood hungry ghoul released her and stalked forward, a crazed look in his eyes, filled with renewed energy. "What I want… I want to _fight_. Fight. Maim. Break. Shatter bones. Rip apart flesh. Splatter blood. Gore. Pain. Death. Pain. _Pain_. I want you to _feel_ it! I want… I want to make you feel pain!" Urie rushed forward into the CCG ranks with a blood chilling laugh, slicing through armored bodies like paper.

Humans that he'd once sworn to protect, so long as it suited him, lay slain or dying left and right. There lives never meant much to him, and they meant nothing now. Someone swung at his side, barely grazing what remained of his armor. His kagune lashed out, shattering their qunique steel sword. Whoever the investigator was had bravado, lunging in to punch Urie. He seized the outstretched arm, pulling him into a headlock before sinking his teeth into the older man's neck. They screamed. Urie bit down harder. Squelch. Blood spurted into his mouth and he drank it greedily. As he let the body fall, he briefly mused over how red his suit became, coated in blood, both the CCG's and his own.

The CCG, or what was left off them, took a collective step back, shocked and horrified most likely. Did these fools really believe he was still human? The very thought sent spastic laughs through Urie. This was going to be fun.

Sasaki pushed his way through the crowd, "Round two, 'Paladin'?"

Urie grinned when he heard Sasaki use his name. "Fight to kill, or I'll eat you too."

 ***POV**

Sasaki leaned back in his chair, waiting in the observation room behind a two way mirror. Urie was on the other side, handcuffed, sitting in one of two chairs, and dressed in simple clothes, staring at the stainless steel table top.

They managed to restrain the young man, that's not the right way to put it, he gave up. Sasaki and Urie had traded blows for twenty minutes, the younger man even had the upperhand when he just… quit. The image still fresh in the half ghoul's mind; they were standing ten feet apart when Urie just stopped, his kagune sheathed, and he knelt down. "I concede." He must have been buying time because, as far as anyone could tell, not a single one of Domino's servants were left.

Questioning Urie had also been frustrating. He wouldn't say anything apart from, "My goddess is coming for me," and "I have no regret for I have done nothing wrong." Only Arima had been able to coax these out of him.

The CCG's shinigami walked in just as Sasaki thought of him, closing the door with a foot, placing a cafeteria tray in front of Urie. It was something else they had been trying, to get the once investigator to eat human food, perhaps bring him back from insanity by proving he wasn't really a ghoul.

Urie stared at the plate, disgust shimmering in his eyes. He lifted his right hand and backhanded the entire tray into the wall, just below the mirror. The crash startled Sasaki almost as much as the missing cuff. The metal that hung off Urie's wrist had one link still intact, the other dangling, bent, and lightly coated in blood.

"How did you manage that?" Armin asked, completely calm.

"I broke my wrist," Urie answered matter of factly, "I was board."

"Well we'll have to do better at trying to entertain you won't we, Urie-san."

Urie fell quiet again. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. "That's not my name," the purple haired man muttered, dropping his gaze into his lap.

"Why do you only talk to me?" Arima, and by proxy everyone else, learned to avoid commenting about Urie's name. It set him off.

"Because you are needed."

Sasaki leaned forward in his chair. After nearly two weeks his insane student was talking. The question on his mind seemed also to be on Arima's as he asked, "What am I needed for?"

"The awakening. Something I heard. The master's planning it, to wake the whole world up."

"Wake the world up?"

Urie's eyes lifted to Arima, one was a kakugan, "You need to wake up too. This world is a nightmare and you're all trapped by it, blind to the truth. All you see are shadows on a cave wall."

"Would you tell me about what I can't see?"

The nineteen year old studied him for a moment, slightly considering something. "We are the same," Only Sasaki's heightened hearing picked up on it, a whisper little more than a breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Humans. Ghouls. The same."

"How so?"

"The weak are consumed by the strong, a universal truth. This world is full of absolutes and you're all too thickly enraptured by the dream of self determination. Fate isn't something you can fight. Being isn't something you can define. Everything that make someone human is true for ghouls. You have one working for you and somehow the CCG is still blind. From the day he was born Sasaki Haise has never once deviated from his nature, from what makes him himself." Urie leaned back in his chair, "It's starting and you will all wake up weather you wish it or not."

Arima stood and left. Urie only adopted that leaned back posture when he was done talking, they'd get nothing out of him anymore. Sasaki didn't move however. It felt like there was something else, something he'd do once no one was watching. Teacher and student remained rooted to their places for an indeterminate amount of time, all the while Sasaki pondered the meaning of what Urie had said.

He sighed and stood, turning to leave when he heard a shifting behind him. Sasaki glanced over his shoulder to see Urie standing staring at was likely his own reflection, but it felt like the young man's eyes were fixed on him. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Urie looked down at the food he'd thrown earlier, something like longing in his expressionless eyes. The half ghouls remained like this for half a minute before Urie bent down, picking up a discarded loaf of bread. Sasaki turned, hoping against hope that he didn't have to lose anyone else, guilt rooting through his gut.

Urie bit into the bread and chewed a bit. Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to cough violently, spitting out the half eaten food. "Why?" his once flat voice came out, hoarse and creased with agony, "Why couldn't I slept a little longer? Why did I have to wake up?" He slammed a fist against the mirror like glass, dropping his forehead onto the smooth surface and weeping in silent jolting spasm.

"Urie… you-"

Sasaki was cut of by the silent crying morphing into a maddened laughter, Urie's eye, though not fixed on him were staring in his direction, wide and crazed. He beamed into the glass, tears still flowing freely down his face. "You know the answer to that, don't you? There's no need for you to sleep any longer." He coughed again, blood splattering over his palm, a pained expression flitting over his features. "Did I do well, Omega-sama?" Sasaki took a step closer to the glass. There was something in Urie's mouth, dark red, almost black and shiny. He felt his eyes widen. It was impossible to mistake the glow of kagune. _Shit_.

"Arima!" he shouted, slamming the door open. It was to late of course, the CCG's shinigami had been long gone. The guards were startled but he didn't have time to explain. The entire building was rocked by a massive explosion and Sasaki was sent sprawling across the floor. Mado who had fortunately stayed was by his side the instant he'd hit the ground, helping him back to his feet.

"What is it, Hiase?"

"There was a kagune in Urie's mouth. I don't know how it got there but it's not his and… the way he was acting… It's like something is controlling him."

"Long range kagune manipulation? But that's-"

"-not possible? Yeah."

"They're coming to get him then."

In answer, Sasaki flicked open his quinque. Mado took her que from him and also opened her weapon. This was the worst possible time for an attack. Just when security had started to lax from Urie's good behavior. Why they hadn't moved him to one of the ghoul prisons or even a CCG base, Sasaki wouldn't understand. _Unless...no way._

"Hiase! Look out!" With Mado's warning Sasaki had just enough time to duck as a limp human form hurtled over his head. The ghoul that threw them towered over everyone, easily eight feet tall with broad shoulder and an impressive amount of muscle. His upper body was bare, aside from steel knuckled gloves, showing off many battle scars. The greek letter for 'Gamma' covered over his right eye on a dark amber, luchador style mask.

Sasaki didn't have much time to consider Gamma as Urie's cell door shattered off its hinges and hurtled towards them. He seized Mado's waist and pulled her down to the floor, shielding her from the steel and shrapnel with his own body. He hissed in pain when struck. None pierced his skin but they would leave bad bruises down to his bones.

Urie walked into the hall, confident and leering at the two investigators. He was chewing on something, most likely the kagune that was in his mouth before. The sinking sensation in Sasaki's gut was justified when Urie's koukaku tore through his shirt. He rose to his feet, pushing the metal away. "Give him back, Paladin."

"Sorry, I can't do that. I've already 'swallowed' him. Urie is dead, accept that and fight like you mean it this time."

 **Okay so that was an unbelievably long time coming, sorry for leaving you with a cliffhanger for sooo loonnggg UGH! Again I'd like to apologize for that. The ending of this chapter will be moved into the next one just because I can't bring myself to write it at the present. I think we're about half way through the plot at this point... yay?**


End file.
